


Let's Get Physical

by TDKeh16



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, NHL Player Jack Zimmermann, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Fluff, Slow Burn (kinda), bitty shares an apartment with ransom and holster, jack hires bitty to be his personal trainer, personal trainer au, so much chirping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-23 01:29:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16609286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TDKeh16/pseuds/TDKeh16
Summary: Personal trainer Eric Bittle is used to seeing famous people around the gym where he works, but he did not expect one of them to request to be his client. He especially did not expect that client to be the handsome NHL superstar Jack Zimmermann. He definitely did not expect Jack Zimmermann to be so friendly, and charming in a dorky kind of way. Eric Bittle was in trouble.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like it!

"He's here again!"

Of course he was. And of course Bitty had already noticed. Bitty could not help but notice that he was here again. "He" being Jack Zimmermann, hockey legend and most beautiful man alive. "Oh? So he is." Bitty shrugged his shoulders.

His once-giddy co-worker crossed her arms and scoffed at him. "What's with you, today?" 

"Nothing, I'm just tired. I missed out on a trip to Boston with my friends because I had to work, then found out two minutes ago that both my clients cancelled today so..." Bitty sighed. "I guess I'm just gonna work out and then head home alone."

"Well... some of my girlfriends and I are going dancing at a bar tonight -- a gay bar. You should come with us. Use your gaydar to tell us which guys are straight so we can pick them up."

Bitty cringed. "Oh bless your heart. As _delightful_ as that sounds... I think I better stay in tonight." 

Bitty excused himself and headed back to the men's locker room. He started playing the music on his phone without plugging in his earphones as he changed into his workout clothes. He pulled out the shirt for his work uniform first, then fished deeper into his bag for a plain tee since he wasn't there as an employee this time. 

Nobody was around, so Bitty didn't rush to finish getting dressed. Instead doing some stretches with his t-shirt still in his hand. His shoulders had tensed at the word "gaydar" and Bitty hoped that if he spent enough time stretching in the men's locker room he would both work out the kink in the back of his neck, and his annoying co-worker would have left for her night out. "You could go to literally any other bar to flirt with straight guys, why clutter up _our_ dance floor? I should've said that. I'm going to say that next time, just you wait--"

Bitty turned around to skip to the next song on his phone and yelped when he saw none other than Jack Zimmermann standing at the other end of their row of lockers. Jack jumped at Bitty's sudden yelp too. "Sorry! I forgot my water bottle."

"Oh my gosh, no. I am so, so sorry." Bitty dove to pause his playlist.

"I thought you knew I was here. You started talking to me, and--"

Bitty's face turned even more red than Jack's was. "No! I was just-- I talk to myself sometimes. To psych myself up? Or if I'm mad about something and think of the perfect response after the fact? I, uh-- a straight girl just asked me about my gaydar and that got me all riled up. I just hate that, don't you?"

"Oh boy," Jack Zimmermann said with an awkward chuckle. "Yeah, that sucks."

Bitty's eyes widened. "Oh! I didn't mean-- like, obviously, not from _experience_ or anything--" he struggled to excuse himself for suggesting that Jack Zimmermann would personally know the feeling.

"Huh?"

"Forget about it, I'm just prattling on because I'm so embarrassed..."

"Nice to meet you, 'just pratting on embarrassed,' I'm Jack." Jack smiled as he extended his arm to Bitty for a handshake.

Did Jack Zimmermann just introduce himself with a dad joke? A horrible dad joke? Did he just say 'pratting'? "E-Eric. Bittle. You can call me Eric. Or Bitty."

"Bitty?"

"It's an old nickname from college. Bittle. Bitty..." Bitty shrugged as he pulled his hand back from their shake. "I should probably put my shirt on. Oh lord..."

"Haha."

"I'm usually not this awkward, I swear."

"It's okay. I usually _am_ , so..." Jack grinned. 

Damn it, why was his smile so bright and charming? Years of PR training? That couldn't be it. Bitty had seen enough post-game interviews to know that Jack Zimmermann was yet another sufferer of hockey-player-interview-monotone -- the only hockey-related way he _didn't_ stand out from the rest.

Why was he looking at Bitty so weird? Oh no. What fresh awkward hell had Bitty unleashed on the stranger before him now? "Huh?" Eloquent, Bittle. Real nice. He chastized himself internally.

Jack's grin returned and he repeated the question that he had apparently asked while Bitty was fantasizing about Jack's perfect teeth. "What sport did you play?" 

"Hockey," Bitty replied before he could even consider being embarrassed. It hit him in a wave five seconds later and his face heated up again.

"I was going to guess that."

Bitty erupted into a nervous cackling laughter. "What a liar!"

"Me?" Jack looked more confused than before.

This was it. Eric Bittle's last day on earth. He was sure of it, because he was definitely about to die from embarrassment. "Nobody ever thinks I played hockey, even when I was on the team..." he tried to laugh off his explanation. "I don't exactly look the part with my being so short, and all."

Jack grinned again. Holy hell his teeth were so white and straight. Bitty reasoned that they must be fake -- nobody made it through a lifetime of professional hockey with a full set of teeth that beautiful, genetics be damned. Wait. What was he saying now? 

"I guess they're just looking at the wrong part." Jack closed his locker and winked at Bitty as he turned to leave, water bottle in hand. "See you out there, Bittle."

Bitty squeaked out some kind of affirmative sound before dropping onto the lockeroom bench. Surely, he had imagined that wink. He felt for his pulse. It was pounding about a thousand beats per minute, so he was definitely still alive, but Bitty was sure he had died and gone to some kind of heaven.

Bitty took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. There was no way Jack Zimmermann had meant to flirt with him just now. Looking at 'the wrong part' to tell if he was a hockey player was definitely just some friendly encouragement, and not a comment on the hockey butt he worked so hard to maintain post-college. Yep. That was it. Just some kind words. Kind words and an imagined wink.

Bitty put on his headphones and slipped his phone into the pocket of his sweatpants. "Okay, Bittle. You've got this. Time to kick some cardio's butt then go home to stress-bake and eat an entire cheesecake."

Just wait until the boys got back from Boston. They were _never_ going to believe this.

 

******

 

"You're such a bad fucking liar!" Holster declared as he passed a wad of napkins to Ransom, who had done a spit-take with his iced coffee all over their dining table.

"I'm serious!" 

"Yeah, Bits. Like, no offence? Because your butt is still a beaut? But there is no way Jack Zimmermann just walked up to you outta nowhere and said you had a nice ass." 

"That's not what I said!" Bitty groaned. "I _said_ that I met him at the gym and we were having a conversation--"

"This story is already full of holes."

"Shut up, Holster." Bitty swatted at him. "And when I told him most people don't think I look like a hockey player, he said they weren't looking at the right 'part.' Now, I know it's probably not what he meant, but I can't help it if my brain went there."

"Butts on the brain," Ransom said matter-of-factly while nodding his head.

"Oh,  _please!_ The only _buttheads_ here are the two of you."

"Hurtful."

Holster sighed dramatically. "Fine. Let's stop teasing Bits about his totally-fake-meet-cute with Jack Zimmermann, and let's focus back on the fact that our dear Ransy-poo actually said 'LOL' last night instead of laughing."

Bitty snickered. "You _didn't!_ "

"It just slipped out!" Ransom insisted.

" _Sure_ it did." 

"Bitty! Come on! Help me out here! Holtzy already teased me about it the _entire_ drive back from Boston this morning!"

Holster scoffed. "What else could I do? I literally had no other choice!"

"Um, you could just not tease me about it?"

"Impossible, bro."

Bitty chuckled and took a sip of the coffee they had picked up for him on their way home. "Good lord, you two. Get a room!"

"We have a room, Bits. It's right next to yours," Ransom answered with a cheeky grin. 

"Oh, believe me, I know. It was so _blissfully_ quiet here last night. I got a taste of what living in a one-bedroom must feel like -- heaven!"

"Why you gotta go there, Bits? _We_ love living with  _you_." Ransom gave Bitty his best puppy-dog eyes.

Bitty got up from the table and patted Ransom's cheek. "Aww. I'm sorry, darlin'. You know I can't stay mad at those cheekbones."

"Where are you going?"

"Work. I got another client appointment."

"You should come work in my office. Pay is kinda shit, but at least it would be a normal 9 to 5 job. Or like, 8 to 4, but still."

"I _like_ my job, Holster."

"Yeah, but wouldn't it be nice to not have to run around at the beck and call of rich clients who change their minds about working out as soon as they lose their targeted 5 pounds? Or decide that they're going to follow some new fad diet and just eat what like, fucking dinosaurs ate or whatever?"

"I like the flexibility. Now, if you boys will excuse me..." Bitty grabbed a banana off of the kitchen counter and tossed it into an open side-pocket of his gym bag. He took another sip of his coffee. "I'm off to meet my new mystery dino-dieter. Ill be back in a few hours."

Bitty ate the banana on the way to the gym, and stuffed the peel into his now-empty paper coffee cup. He tossed it in the garbage when he arrived at work, and quickly changed into his uniform's shirt. This session was going to take a little longer than usual, as an introductory appointment involved a lot of assessing and discussing fitness goals. On top of that, Bitty did not have so much as a name for this last-minute client.

He took a few seconds to check his hair in the mirror before heading out to the reception desk to organize his paperwork and wait for his client.

Jack Zimmermann walked in at that moment and gave Bitty a shy smile and a wave. "Hey."

"Hey there," Bitty smiled back, blushing a little as all of the awkwardness of their encounter the night before came flooding back. "Welcome back, Mr. Zimmermann."

"Call me Jack. Please."

"My mistake, Jack. Nice seeing you again." Bitty smiled again then turned his attention back to the exercise plan in front of him. It was only a minute before Bitty had the distinct feeling that someone was watching him. He looked up and startled when he found Jack watching him patiently from a foot or two away. "Oh!"

"Sorry, I thought you knew I was here."

Bitty gripped a hand to his chest but laughed off his surprise. "You-- someone's gotta put a bell on you! I'm not sure how many of these I can take."

Jack chuckled. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Can I help you with anything?"

"No, just waiting."

"For...?" Bitty asked distractedly as a woman came into the gym. He didn't recognize her, so she was probably his new client. "Hi there!"

"Hi," she replied back sweetly as she scanned her ID and walked past him to the women's locker room as though she had done it all her life.

"Huh." Bitty shrugged and looked back up at Jack. "Sorry, I'm just waiting for my new client to arrive, but I don't even have a name here, so I'm a bit distracted. You were saying?"

"Oh, it's me."

"What about you?"

"I'm your client. I think." Jack fidgeted with the bottom hem of his t-shirt. "I mean, I asked and they told me to be here for 2 o'clock so I think I'm right."

"You asked for a personal trainer?"

"I asked for _you_ to be my personal trainer."

Bitty laughed. "Why?" It did not look like Jack Zimmermann needed any help with his workouts. He had the best body that Bitty had ever seen. And in Bitty's experience, a lot of guys who looked like Jack weren't interested in being trained by a "shrimp" like him.

Jack was taken aback, he had not even considered that was a question Bitty would ask. "What do you mean?"

Bitty blushed. "Oh, well, just... What you've been doing seems to be working, so I... I guess I'm just surprised that you would want _my_ help."

This time it was Jack's turn to blush and his eyes darted out over the gym and around them. "If you don't want to, I totally understa--"

"Oh! No, no, no! Oh my gosh--" Bitty's eyes settled on a nearby table and chairs set up precisely for introductory discussions and he gestured towards it. "I'm sorry, I'm being so rude. Let's have a seat and discuss everything."

They sat down and both tried to speak at the same time. "I--"

"Now-- oh, sorry. You go first," Bitty insisted.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday. I should not have said anything like that. It was really inappropriate and I promise I won't make comments like that ever again. It was... gross." Jack finished his rapid-fire apology with a big sigh.

"Gross?"

"That comment about your... uh, you know... _hockey butt_..." Jack whispered the last part. "I crossed a line and I'm really sorry. I can see that it made you uncomfortable, and--"

Bitty laughed. "Oh my god, so that **_is_ **what you meant! My roommates thought I was crazy!" He noticed the way Jack flinched, so Bitty reached out and gave his arm a reassuring pat. "I promise you, no offence taken. A compliment like that from you of all people is high praise indeed."

"Oh. Haha."

Bitty brought his hand up to cover his face. "Now who's being inappropriate? I apologize. Let's reset." He extended his hand to Jack. "Hi, I'm Eric. I hear you're interested in some training sessions."

"Yeah," Jack replied and shook Bitty's hand. "Um... I play hockey."

Bitty laughed. "I know. Leading points-scorer last season, got your third Art Ross. In the running for the Ted Lindsay and Hart Memorial trophies, too." 

"Yeah..." Jack looked away sheepishly. "Wow. So... yeah. That's me."

"I'm not some huge fan or anything--" Bitty groaned. "I mean, of course I'm a fan, but I swear I won't be asking you to sign a bunch of autographs or give deets about your teammates or anything. Just... You had a very impressive season. Congratulations."

"Thanks. It was a team effort, though. All the guy's really pulled together and gave their best."

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"This isn't an interview. I don't need a soundbite."

"Oh. Right." Jack chuckled and seemed to relax a bit.

Bitty snickered and adjusted the papers In front of him. "Okay, so, let's get down to business. What are you hoping to achieve by enlisting the help of a personal trainer?"

"Um," Jack froze. "I want to get better?"

"Better at...?"

"Hockey."

Bitty laughed and patted Jack's arm again. "Okay, honey, you gotta give me more than that to work with."

"Oh, uh... like improving my speed? And agility? I'm getting to be one of the 'old guys' out there, so I figure I should step up my workout."

"You're in luck then, Mr. Zimmermann, because I used to be the fastest guy on my team."

"I know." The moment the words left Jack's mouth, his face began to turn red once more. "Uh..."

"You know?"

Jack sighed and covered his face with both hands. "I'm sorry again. I googled you. I already knew you were a trainer yesterday and when you said you played college hockey and told me your name, I thought that maybe it would be good to have a trainer that really _gets_ hockey, you know? So I... googled you."

"Wow."

"Oh boy. This has all been a huge mistake. I sound like a--"

"Shh, it's fine. I'm just a little embarrassed that you of all people looked up my hockey stats." Bitty laughed.

"Why? You were good. Soft hands. Fast. Brought your team to win the Frozen Four your first year as captain."

" ** _Only_ **year as captain."

"Only because you graduated."

"I almost didn't. There was a team-wide intervention to get me to write my senior thesis. Those boys couldn't  _wait_ to get rid of me," Bitty said with a grin.

"I can't imagine that."

Bitty laughed off the way his heart fluttered. He couldn't decide which he found cuter -- Jack's cheeky grin, or his genuine smile. "Well, you're a  _charming_ liar, I'll give you that."

Jack chuckled. "I'm not lying."

"So you admit that you're charming?" Bitty teased.

"I know you are, but what am I?"

Bitty guffawed and dropped his head onto the table. "I revoke your 'charming' card. That was _atrocious!_ " He looked up to find Jack snickering proudly. "Okay, Mr. Zimmermann. Hit the treadmill. Let's get you warmed up and see what I've got to work with."

"You got it, Bittle." 

Bitty stuck his papers in a clipboard. "I'll come find you in a few minutes."

The moment Jack had rounded the corner and was out of Bitty's sight, Bitty spun around and locked eyes with his star-struck boss, April. She silently mouthed out "oh my god" and eagerly waved him over.

"I... I don't even know where to start," Bitty admitted in a whisper when he reached her.

"Dude, what the hell? You were vibing off each other like crazy. I don't think I've seen him say more than five words to anybody since he joined here."

"I always thought he was so quiet, but you know what? It turns out he's really easy to talk to! A little awkward, maybe, but in a really endearing way."

"Well, whatever you're doing, keep it up. He seems to have really taken a shining to you."

"I'll definitely try. We just sort of clicked somehow? Incredible." Bitty paused when he saw his boss grin. "What?"

She shrugged her shoulders and feigned innocence. "You may have heard a click, but _I_ saw sparks flying..."

Bitty laughed and gave her a tap on the arm with his clipboard. "Oh, please. Dont even get me started with thoughts like _that_."

"I'm a hopeless romantic, what can I say?"

"I don't know about the 'romantic' part, but 'hopeless'...?"

She gave him a playful shove. "Enough sass from you, mister. I ought to fire your ass for disrespecting your employer."

Bitty laughed. "You kiss your wife with that mouth?"

"All the time," she replied and gave Bitty a fist bump.

"Oh! Before I forget-- Stacie asked me to use my gaydar to point out the straight guys at the gay bar last night."

April groaned and hung her head. "Jesus Christ..."

"I knew you'd get a kick out of that."

"Please tell me you didn't actually go."

"Of course not."

"Atta boy. Okay, get back out there and make some sparks fly."

"You hush up with that talk. I am a _consummate_ professional." Bitty's boss only smirked when he picked up his clipboard. "And _you_ shouldn't be encouraging that kind of behaviour."

"This is the exception," April insisted.

Bitty dismissed her with a wave as he sought out Jack in the gym. "Hey there. How are you feeling? All warmed up?"

"Yeah, not bad."

"Good. Let's see you stretch." 

Jack got off the treadmill and followed Bitty over the mats. "I'm not very flexible," he admitted.

"But you do stretches, right?"

"Yeah, a little."

Bitty scoffed. "Well,  _that's_ going to change, I'm telling you right now."

"Haha." Jack looked up to find Bitty watch him intently over his clipboard. "Oh, you're serious."

"As serious and double overtime in game 7."

"Oh wow. That _is_ serious."

Bitty laughed and got down on the mat beside him. "Okay, I'm going to lead you through some of my personal faves, and then I'll get you doing some more challenging exercises. Figure out your limits, see where you have room for improvement, yada yada."

"Lead the way."

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all of your wonderful comments and kudos on the first chapter! I've had really bad writer's block for most of the past year, so I'm really happy you're all enjoying this fic so far <3

 

"Sure are on that phone a lot," Jack teased as he got onto a treadmill next to the one Bitty was using, despite there being at least three empty machines in a row.

They had been meeting two or three days a week for half a month now to work on Jack's off-season training, but this was not one of those days. "You chirping me, Mr. Zimmermann?"

"You still calling me 'Mr. Zimmermann,' Bittle?"

"Touché."

"Trying to impress me by speaking French?"

Bitty laughed. " _Clearly_."

"Know any more? Or just that one word?"

"I mean, all it usually takes is one word, but..." Bitty grinned when Jack snickered. "You asked for it, so I _suppose_ I can dazzle you with my impressive bilingualism..."

"I'm waiting," Jack grinned back.

"Boutique... Café... Chauffeur... Chic... um, _croissant_ ," Bitty listed off carefully.

"Going alphabetically?"

"Hush. It helps me remember." Bitty pretended like he was going to swat Jack in the arm. "Oh! Fiancée!"

"You skipped right past E and D," Jack pointed out.

"I've gone rogue--" Bitty declared with a wink, causing Jack to laugh. "Sauté, cliché... faux pas... _Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?_ "

Jack smirked. "Will you at least buy me dinner first?"

Bitty turned red and let out a dramatic groan. "I can't help it if most of my French vocabulary comes from cook books and pop songs! I know the whole French part in 'Partition' too, but a gentleman does not repeat such words in public."

"Is that so?"

"If you knew me _at all_ you'd know better than to doubt me when it comes to Beyoncé lyrics."

"Well, maybe we can get to know each other a little better, and you can tell me them in private," Jack replied nonchalantly as he increased the incline of his treadmill.

Bitty stopped in his tracks, and the safety feature powered down his treadmill, but not before he was tossed back onto his butt. Floored, both literally and figuratively. "Ah!"

Jack quickly hopped off his treadmill. "Shit!" He cursed under his breath before kneeling down to check on Bitty. "Are you okay?"

"I'm--" Bitty let out a burst of hysterical laughter at the absurdity of the scene. The line Jack had said to him, falling off the treadmill, the small crowd of people rushing to check on him -- everything. "I'm fine. Just a big klutz. I, um... I'm going to ice my wrist for a little while. Pardon me."

Jack held back for a minute, then went searching for Bitty. He found him on one of the benches at the back of the locker room. "Did you hurt your wrist when you fell?"

Bitty kept his eyes on the ice pack he was holding to his arm. "A tad. Nothing serious. I think I landed a little funny, is all... I could have done with a more graceful dismount."

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, maybe."

"I--" Bitty stopped himself. "Nevermind."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Jack joined him on the bench and they sat in awkward silence for a minute. "I brought your phone. You dropped it when you fell. Uh... I don't think it's broken? I don't really know, though. You might want to take a closer look."

"Thanks," Bitty ventured a shy smile, but as soon as he made eye contact with Jack he felt his face heat up again. "You're... full of surprises, Mr. Zimmermann."

"I didn't want to leave it sitting there where it could get stolen, or stepped on, or--"

"Not that. I meant what you said earlier. I... wasn't expecting that." Bitty dared another glimpse up at Jack, but found him looking confused. Perhaps Bitty had read too much into the situation like when they first met. Then again, it turned out Jack really did intend to make a comment on his butt that time, so who knew? Certainly not Bitty. "About the song? In private?"

Jack looked around at the empty locker room. "Oh yeah, I guess nobody else is around now. Are you going to sing it? You don't have to if you're too shy. I can look it up later."

"You...? Oh my god!  ** _Of course_**  you don't know the song! That makes a lot more sense!" Bitty laughed. "Phew!"

"Huh?"

"Here," Bitty said and looked up 'Partition' on his phone. He offered his earbuds to Jack to listen for himself.

"Oh. Uh... _Wow_." Jack's face turned more red as the song went on. "Oh boy," he said finally and stopped the song before it had reached the end. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I just asked you to sing that."

"You actually asked to get to know me better so that I would tell you those things in private..." Bitty clarified.

"Oh no. Is that why you were in such a rush to get away from me?"

"I wasn't-- I literally froze with shock!" Bitty laughed. "The  _treadmill_  was the one that rushed me away!"

"Oh, haha." Jack looked down at the ice on Bitty's wrist then frowned. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Trust me. My _ego_ is bruised much more than this wrist." Bitty lifted the ice pack and flexed his hand. His wrist would be fine, but it was like to be tender for a couple days. "It's going to make peeling and slicing 8 lbs of potatoes for tonight a bit of a challenge, though."

"Why so many?"

"Some friends are in town for my roommate's birthday, and I promised him I would make his favourite scalloped potatoes tonight for our big dinner." Bitty stood up from the bench. "Please forgive me, but I think I should cut my workout short and get an early start on that instead."

"Can I help?"

Bitty laughed. "Oh, aren't you sweet! I couldn't ask you to--"

"I'm offering. Please? This was all kind of my fault."

"Oh, honey, no! This was absolutely not your fault. You really don't have to help me peel potatoes," Bitty told him with a smile. Jack looked crestfallen. "...Unless you really _want_ to? There's really no obligation."

"I want to." Jack smiled back shyly. "Unless you don't want me to. I don't know if there are rules about befriending clients or something. I don't want you to get in trouble."

"You want to be my friend?"

"Is that weird?"

"What? No. We can be friends." Bitty broke eye contact by looking back down at his wrist. "I'm a little surprised that you would _want_ to, but..."

"Why?"

"Because," Bitty started with a laugh, "--you're _Jack Zimmermann_."

"And _you're_ Eric Bittle?"

Bitty laughed. "I just meant that you must know so many cool people..."

"Maybe... but you're one of them."

"Charmer," Bitty teased and walked to his locker to grab his bag. "Okay. Spend the afternoon with me and a bag of potatoes so that I can prove you wrong."

"Haha."

******

An hour later, Bitty found himself in his apartment with Jack, peeling potatoes as promised. "How many people are you feeding with this?"

"Oh, a dozen or so." Bitty noticed the confusion on Jack's face. "There will be other dishes."

"And you have to make all of it?"

"Oh, lord no! Just these potatoes and two pies. The others are bringing dishes too."

"Oh good," Jack said with a small chuckle. He held up his newest peeled potato for Bitty to see. "Another one done. Not too bad, eh?"

"It looks wonderful, Jack. If this hockey stuff doesn't work out, at least you can work in a kitchen as a contingency plan. Already peeling like a pro!"

 Jack smiled the entire time he peeled the last potato, and showed that one off as well. "You might be onto something..."

 "I am  _very_  impressed." Bitty placed the large bowl full of peeled potatoes back in front of Jack. "How are your slicing skills?"

"I'm not sure. I'll let you be the judge of that."

Bitty took one potato and carefully demonstrated. It helped that his injury was to his left wrist at least, and not the hand that needed to do the chopping. Still, holding the potato steady with his left hand was uncomfortable. "Try to slice them about 1/8th of an inch thick, so that they'll cook evenly."

Their fingers brushed as Jack took the knife from Bitty's hand. "I think I can handle that."

"Good." Bitty cleared his throat and spun around to collect more ingredients from the fridge. He pretended to be searching out something in the back of a shelf and took a minute to collect himself. 

It had been a strange day, and Bitty did not anticipate how warm he would feel doing something so domestic and casual with Jack. And for Jack to offer to help him? And say that he wanted to be friends with Bitty? This day had had a lot of unexpected twists, and not just of Bitty's wrist.

"What do you think? Am I up to the Eric Bittle standard?" Jack asked and took a step back so that Bitty could check how the slices of his first few potatoes looked. 

Jack took his step back just as Bitty was turning around with a bowl of fresh blueberries. "Oh!" Bitty yelped as they collided and the bowl slipped from his hands. Jack caught it just before they spilled. "Nice reflexes, Mr. Zimmermann! Looks like all that work on your speed and agility is already starting to pay off."

"Well, I have a pretty great teacher..."

"I bet those baby blues help you get away with all sorts of lies," Bitty teased.

"Who says I'm lying?"

"I do. _I'm_ saying that."

Jack set the bowl down on the counter. "You  _are_  a great teacher."

"That's very sweet of you to say, but I think I know myself a little better than you."

 "Well maybe that cute smile helps you get away with all the lies you tell _yourself_."

" _Wow_. Jack Zimmermann over here dropping truth bombs. Warn a guy, next time."

"Sorry, I didn't-- just--" Jack sputtered. "You're great, I hope you know that."

Bitty's heart beat faster. "I was just teasing."

"Oh. Okay, good." Jack resumed slicing the potatoes, but paused again. "I..."

"Hm?"

"I know you're probably joking, but I, uh... I used to say stuff like that and I _wasn't_  really joking, so... just in case... I mean it when I say that you're great, or cool, or anything like that. You are."

Bitty blushed and ventured a glance up at Jack. Oh no, he looked so sincere. Bitty was not prepared for that. "Thank you, Jack. You're very sweet."

"So," Jack began, as he turned towards Bitty. "What comes next?"

It took Bitty a few seconds to find the words to say with the sirens blaring inside his head. "What-- uh, what do you  _want_ to come next?" Bitty managed to eek out. 

Jack chuckled. "I think that's really up to you. You're the chef."

Bitty followed Jack's gaze to the finished potato slices. "Oh! Right! Um..." Bitty chewed his bottom lip as he looked around the kitchen. "I could use your help with the rolling pin? It might be hard for me to get even pressure on the pie crusts."

"My pleasure."

Bitty continued preparing the scalloped potatoes, then moved onto the pie filling. "Looks great! Thank you so much for all of your help today. I really don't know what I would've done without you."

"I'm happy to help." Jack started rolling out the second pie crust while Bitty pressed the first one into a pie tin. "I feel like we should be wearing aprons for this or something."

"Do you want an apron? Because honey, I've  _got_  aprons. Take your pick." Bitty reached into a drawer and pulled out a few. He tossed them at Jack, then put the last one on himself without looking. He winced when he tried to tie it around his waist.

"Here," Jack offered with a chuckle as he came up behind Bitty and touched the small of his back. "Let me help."

"Thanks," Bitty laughed off his nerves. He turned around and Jack's eyes went wide. "What? Oh." Bitty looked down to read the words 'Does this apron make my dick look big?' written across his chest. "This one is Holster's. He thinks he's funny."

"Holster?"

"One of my roommates. The birthday boy, actually."

Jack looked down and read his own apron. "Your opinion isn't in the recipe."

"That one is mine technically," Bitty explained.

"Oh. Haha. Did you want to switch?"

"No, it's okay. It looks good on you. You look very..." Bitty resisted calling Jack handsome. "Sassy."

Jack chuckled. "Oh really? I don't think anyone has called me 'sassy' before?"

"I find that hard to believe."

"You do?"

 "I honestly do." Bitty laughed. "You're a cheeky one, for sure."

"Cheeky  _and_  sassy, eh?"

"Yes sir!" Bitty had finished portioning off the scalloped potatoes into two large dishes. He squinted at the clock on the oven and frowned. "Hm..."

"What's wrong?"

"We're making better time than I thought. I don't want to put these just yet..." Bitty started thinking out loud as he considered how long it would take for his friends to all arrive. "Ransom will make sure that Holster won't be late, the frogs just have to stop at the store on their way from their hotel, so they should be on time as long as Nursey isn't the one driving... and Lardo and Shitty make their own schedule, so..."

"What time is your party starting?"

"I told everyone to be here for 6:30, so in theory..." Bitty laughed. "Probably like 8:00?"

"Oh, haha."

Bitty decided to blind bake the pie crusts first, then got Jack's help to place the heavy potato dishes into the oven once those were done. "Phew! Thank you for all of your help today, Jack. Really. I'm not sure what I would've done without you."

"You said that already."

"Did I?" Bitty was distracted by his attempts to untie the apron from around his waist. "That's only because I really mean-- Good lord! What did you do to me back here?"

Jack chuckled and came to Bitty's aid. "The strings were long so I tied them up a couple extra times." 

Bitty laughed when he felt Jack struggling to untie the mess of knots he had made. Jack laughed in return, and his breath tickled the back of Bitty's neck. "Are you sure you can handle this, Mr. Zimmermann?"

"Believe me, I can handle it. Slow and steady, Bittle."

"Do you like to take things slow?"

"If something is worth waiting for, then yes."

Bitty turned around slowly once the knots had been untied, despite the fact that Jack had not yet let go of the apron strings. "What _are_ you waiting for?"

The question came out more suggestive than Bitty meant it to, or maybe it was his true intention all along. He was fairly certain that he had not been misinterpreting their friendly banter. It had clearly shifted into sexual tension territory, or at least very close to it. One thing was for certain, he had never seen that look in Jack's eyes at the gym. Bitty bit his lip.

Jack's lips parted as though he was about to say something, then closed again. He started to lean ever-so-slightly towards Bitty, when a sudden burst of noise behind them startled both men.

"Bits! We're home! I got the birthday boy and the ice cream cake, and the cake is barely melt-- _whooaaaholyshit!_ You're Jack Zimmermann! Hello. _Jack Zimmermann_. In my kitchen. _Hi_. Wow. Holtzy, get in here." Ransom reached out for Holster without turning his eyes away from the NHL superstar standing in his apartment. He eventually grabbed hold of Holster's sleeve and tugged him into the room.

"Whoa. Holy shit, dude. You're, uh... Why are you here exactly?"

"Tsk," Bitty pulled the apron from around his neck and tossed it at his gawking roommates with his good hand, then raised his bandaged wrist. "Don't be so rude. Jack here very _graciously_ offered to help me prepare for your birthday party, Holster."

"Oh, shit. What happened?" Ransom stuffed the ice cream cake into the freezer and gently held Bitty's wrist for a closer look.

"It's just a sprain. I had a small accident at the gym."

"What kind of accident?"

"I... fell off the treadmill," Bitty admitted with a defeated sigh as his friends began to cackle.

"How?" 

"It was all my fault," Jack hurried to take the blame.

"Wait-- What?!  ** _HOWWW?!!!_** " Holster bellowed.

Bitty swatted at him to clear out of the entryway to the kitchen. "It was not Jack's fault, I just stumbled a little. Now, I'm going to use the restroom -- don't you two hyenas go scaring him off while I'm gone."

"How did I get lumped into this? I was just worried about your injury!" Ransom insisted. Bitty paused to give him a pointed look as he rounded the corner. Ransom huffed in a fluster. "But-- Pfft! Like, okay--  _Yeah_ I could've been a little smoother, but dude? You couldn't text us a a quick heads up about the NHL's biggest star standing in our kitchen wearing your apron?"

"Oh? Haha." Jack looked down and realized that he was indeed still wearing Bitty's apron. "I should probably take this off now, eh?"

Ransom looked back at Jack like a deer caught in headlights, having momentarily forgotten that he was speaking in full volume to Bitty. "It looks really good on you?"

" _Wow,_ bro. Just wow." Holster shook his head with embarrassment. "Don't mind him. I know Bitty mentioned that he knew you, but we didn't exactly... uh, believe him."

Ransom let out a nervous squeak. "What Holtzy means is-- we believed that Bits _met_ you, but we uh, didn't think you were like, baking buddies?"

" _Raaans?_ " Bitty's voice had a hint of anguish to it when he called from the other room. "Can I get your help for a second?"

Ransom jumped at the opportunity to avoid more awkward rambling on his part towards one of his favourite hockey players. "What's up, Bits?"

"I can't get this damn button done back up on my jeans with my wrist like this..." Bitty whispered, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

"So? We've seen you in way less, Bits. Don't let one unbuttoned fly embarrass you now." Ransom laughed. "Okay, okay. One sec." 

Holster rounded the corner upon hearing that comment. "Not cool, bro. It's my birthday, yet I find you stuffing your hand down  ** _Bitty's_** pants? How is that fair?"

"Holster!" Bitty scolded and tilted his head towards the kitchen. "He's helping me with my button and don't you _dare_ try to make it sound more vulgar than that. We have company."

"I was just surprised. Usually it takes a few drinks before either of you start getting all handsy."

"Holster, please." Bitty begged. He rounded the corner back into the kitchen with his face bright red and Jack avoided making eye contact.

Jack started at the oven instead. "I should probably get going. If your, uh, _roommates_ are home or whatever, you probably don't need me here getting in the way..."

"Oh, right. Um..." Bitty's eyes darted around the small kitchen for some excuse to get Jack to stay a little longer. Finding nothing, he gave a small sigh. "You probably have important things to do, huh?"

Jack shrugged. "Not really. I recorded a documentary about the Battle of Hong Kong in World War II a while ago so I'll probably just watch that..."

"What?  _Bro._ Zimmermann. I cannot stand idly by while a dude goes home to watch a _documentary_ on a _Friday night_. You should come to my party!" Holster suggested. "Rans will be chill, I swear. We'll keep the others in line, too."

"I wouldn't want to impose--"

"No way! Dude. Can you seriously tell me you don't want to try everything you just helped Bitty make?"

"It tastes like ten times better than it smells, bro." Ransom poked his head back into the kitchen.

"Boys, don't--"

"Okay," Jack answered in the middle of Bitty's objection. Bitty looked at him surprised. "If it's okay with you, of course. I mean... it  _does_  smell pretty good in here, and--"

"No, no, no! Of course you're welcome to stay! We'll have more than enough food and I'm sure we can squeeze one more chair around the table."

"If not, we'll just make Bits sit in someone's lap." Ransom shrugged.

"Why me?"

"Cuz you're the smallest."

"Excuse  _you_ , but Lardo is the smallest."

"Yeah but she's fucking terrifying," Ransom countered.

"It's true, bro." Holster swung an arm around Bitty's shoulders. "But you? You love us too much to cause us any harm. I bet Zimmermann doesn't even know how sweet you are."

"Well, his workouts can be pretty tough sometimes, but... I know," Jack replied with a small smile in Bitty's direction.

Bitty squirmed out of Holster's grasp and attempted to hide his ever-blushing cheeks. "Y'all better stop chirping me. Don't you know by now not to mess with the person who cooks your food?"

"We know you'd never soil one of your pies with poison," Ransom told him.

"There's a first time for everything, honey. Don't push it." Bitty pointed at Ransom with a spatula as menacingly as he could. His friends laughed instead. "Well, I tried. Jack, would you like something to drink?"

"Maybe just a glass of water?"

"Coming right up."

"We should probably get changed for the party, eh Holtzy?" Ransom tugged on Holster's arm.

Holster's eyes lingered warily on Jack Zimmermann as he insisted on pouring his glass of water from the pitcher to spare Bitty's wrist, both men grinning away like idiots. "...Yeah." He looked back at Ransom and cleared his throat. "If I leave you to it alone you'll probably put on those damn salmon shorts."

"For the record, I think you look _incredible_ in those salmon shorts, Rans!" Bitty called after them.

"Thanks, Bits! This is why I love you more than Hol--  _ow!_ **_Bro!_** "

Jack sipped his water. "They seem nice."

"They're idiots, but harmless ones at that." Bitty laughed.

"They sure, uh-- I can tell-- They really love you, huh?"

Bitty snorted. "Yeah, I suppose you could say that. Those boys were attached at the hip since before I met them, and when I came along they just sort of took to me? It was so hard that last year once they had graduated and I was still at Samwell. I jumped at the chance for us to all move in together again."

"That's nice." Jack smiled and took a small step back, making more space between himself and Bitty.

Bitty busied himself with checking on the dishes in the oven while wondering why Jack had suddenly pulled away. Maybe he had imagined it all again, but it had seemed like Jack was leaning in to kiss him before Ransom and Holster had come home. It's not like that would be the first time he had misunderstood Jack's behaviour as flirting. Before Bitty had any more time to dwell on it, there was a chorus of knocks at the door. More friends had arrived and the party was officially under way.


	3. Chapter 3

 "Jack. Motherfucking. Zimmermann. As I live and breathe! How's it goin', brah?" Shitty wrapped an arm around Jack's shoulders as though he had done so a thousand times before.

"Oh, uh, good?"

"You're a man of few words. I get that. Respect."

"Huh?"

"I nearly swerved off the road when Lards got Bitty's text about you being here tonight, I fuck you not."

Jack frowned slightly while he processed Shitty's particular way with words. "Oh. Well, uh, it's important to maintain your focus when you're on the road."

Shitty burst into laughter. "Fuck, you're hilarious. Let me buy you a drink."

"Oh, I don't--" Jack's objection was cut short.

"I know they're free, brah. It's a figure of speech."

That had not been the reason Jack was objecting, but he let himself be swept into Hurricane Shitty until he found himself half an hour later on his second cup of something called "tub juice". Jack tried to stand up from the couch but stumbled and fell back into his seat. "Whoa."

"Careful, m'dude. I shoulda warned you about that tub juice -- it's magically malicious," Shitty told him.

Someone sitting on the arm of the couch got up and returned a minute later with another red solo cup for Jack. "It's water. You look like you could use it."

Jack tried to place a name to the face before him. It was something short, maybe something to do with his red hair? "Thanks... Rex?"

Another person sitting next to Jack on the couch started laughing. "Yooooo babe! I'm gonna start calling you Rex from now on!"

"I mean, you _can_... but that means I'm never fucking you again, so..." The redhead perched himself back on the arm of the couch, with his feet in the laughing man's lap.

"Mmm, you know it gets me so hot when you're withholding..."

A thin woman with light brown hair leaned over. "That's _Dex_ , and Nursey. You're about to have a front row seat to a serious make out session. Lots of groping. Even more insults. Just all-around disturbing, really. My advice to you is to get away while you still can."

No sooner did Jack stand up that the two men toppled over into his spot. "Whoa."

"I gave up trying to understand it a very long time ago. Too many headaches." She stood up from her chair. "You can have my seat, if you want. I should probably find my husband. I'm Cait, by the way. Or Farmer." 

Jack shook her hand as he took his new seat. "Jack. Nice to meet you." He watched her wander the small apartment until she found a lean Asian man scooping a dangerously unhealthy amount of scalloped potatoes onto a paper plate. It was hard to hear over the thrum of music, but he thought he could make out the word "metabolism" through the couple's laughter. They looked young, even younger than Bitty. Jack wondered how long they had been married.

Jack didn't have time to wonder for long because he was quickly distracted by the sight of Bitty emerging from the bathroom without the jeans he had been wearing earlier. Instead, he wore the shortest, tightest, shorts Jack had ever seen on a man.

"Guess who has two thumbs and can still fit into his college clothes? This guy!" Bitty announced triumphantly without doing the accompanying hand gestures. "Rans! You don't have to help with my fly anymore!"

"Lookin' good, Bits. Come dance!"

Bitty very comfortably inserted himself into the small space between Ransom and Holster on the makeshift dance floor. It was borderline obscene, but nobody else at the party seemed to give them a second thought. Jack forced himself up, and walked to the kitchen for a refill of his water.

"So you're friends with Bits, huh? Even after the workouts?" The man named Nursey walked in behind him and waited for a turn with the water jug. "He was captain of our hockey team his senior year -- fucking brutal. If I hadn't know how wonderful he was before that, I don't know if I coulda been friends with that hardass."

"He's tough, but fair." Jack shrugged and offered to pour Nursey some water.

"Ch'yeah. Thanks, brah. The ol' ball-and-chain gets mad grumpy when I don't pace myself."

"Gotta stay hydrated."

Nursey laughed. "Yeah, you've got my back, Zimmermann. I can tell. And like? I joke and shit, but I've got a good thing going with Poindexter, ya know? Really. It's not all like, being assholes to each other and shit." He gripped Jack's forearm like it was of dire importance that his feelings be heard.

"I believe you, man. No worries."

"Yeah. See? I knew you had my back, brah."

Jack could tell that Nursey was fairly drunk, but this was the first somewhat manageable conversation he'd had all night. The music was drowned out somewhat in the hallway outside of the kitchen. "Hey, so... what's the story with them? They've been together a pretty long time I guess, huh?" He asked with a nod to where Bitty was still dancing with Ransom and Holster.

"Those guys? Yeah kinda. I mean, they were like best friends and everything, but it wasn't until after graduation that like, they figured out the rest."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Rans and Holtzy used to live in Boston with Shits and Lards. They'd have more deets for you. But like, Rans got into med school at Brown so Holster just like, moved with him. I guess the thought of being apart brought the real shit into the open, ya know?"

"And what about Bittle?"

"Bits? Yeah he went home to see his folks for a couple months after graduation, then Ransom's ex and her wife were like 'hey come to Providence and work at our gym' or whatever and so he moved in with the guys."

"So they weren't dating before he moved in?"

"Huh? Yeah they were. It started back in Boston." Nursey looked at him in confusion.

"Bittle too?"

"Wait. What?"

It was Jack's turn to look confused. Had he misunderstood everything again? "Aren't they _all_ dating? They seem like they really love--"

Nursey cackled. "What?!"

"Uh oh. What happened?" Dex bumped shoulders with Nursey as he leaned against the wall.

"I think I misinterpreted something..." Jack felt his cheeks heat up. "Uh, about Bittle. And his roommates."

"He thought they were doing a poly throuple kinda thing," Nursey explained as he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

"Oh. Wow. No. Bitty's like a little brother to those guys," Dex explained as he looked over at the trio still dancing. "Like, a fucked up kinda way I guess with all that groping and stuff they're doing right now? But no, there's _definitely_ never been anything going on there."

"So, _not_ Bittle. But the other two are a couple?"

"Yeah." Dex eyed Jack warily. "You're not about to pull some homophobic shit, are you?"

Jack choked on his water. "No! Definitely not. I swear."

"Good. Cuz you're kinda at the wrong party if you have a problem with that." Dex let out a short laugh when Nursey took the opportunity to kiss his cheek at that exact moment. "See?"

"I promise. I'm not-- I-- Oh boy. No. That's definitely not a problem for me. Really," Jack insisted. "I, uh..."

"What?"

"So then who is Bittle dating?" Jack finally asked.

"Nobody," Nursey said with a shrug. "Why? Did he tell you he was dating someone?"

"No. I guess I just _assumed_... I mean, he's pretty great, right?"

"Bitty's the best. But yeah, he's single. He was dating this total fucking tool a while back, but they broke up a couple months ago."

"Thank God."

Jack focused on the red solo cup in his hand, turning it idly while in thought. "You're a pretty close knit group of friends, eh? It's nice that you all look out for each other. Probably have some pretty high standards when it comes to the guys Bittle dates..."

"Not really." Dex shrugged. "As long as he's a nice dude we don't really care. And Bitty's usually a pretty good judge of character."

"Yeah, that last dude was an outlier. We only met him the one time but it was enough..." Nursey exchanged looks with his boyfriend. "Looks like Bitty's taking a break from dancing for a while. You should go over there."

"Yeah. I should. It's, uh, it's nice meeting you guys."

"You too. You're a _nice dude_ , Jack Zimmermann," Dex told him.

Jack smiled awkwardly at them, so focused on his discomfort with flattery that he missed the meaning behind Dex's words. "Ok, bye."

"Wow. And you thought I was unsubtle with my crush on you. That dude has literally zero chill," Nursey said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Dex grinned.

Jack was almost to Bitty when his path was intercepted by Ransom. "Bro. It's seriously so great that you're here."

"No problem, man. Happy birthday."

"No, no. It's _Holtzy's_ birthday. I'm just drunk," Ransom replied, as though those two things were somehow linked. "When Bits first said he met you? We totally didn't believe him. At all."

Jack chuckled. "Oh really?"

"In our defense, he made up some extra bullshit about you checking out his ass just to mess with us."

Jack laughed nervously. "Oh. He told you guys about that, huh?"

"Wait. That 'hockey butt' stuff was real?" Ransom stared at him in disbelief.

"Well, it was supposed to be a joke, but then I felt like an asshole for just-- I don't-- I'm really bad at flirting. I apologized and Bittle forgave me, thankfully."

"You-- holy shit. Listen. Zimmermann. Bro. Your secret is safe with me, okay? And Bits is so great. I thought you guys looked cozy when we got home today. Fuck. I can't believe I cock-blocked Bitty. _Or_ Jack Zimmermann. Bro, I--"

It was Jack's turn to be shocked. "Wait, wait, wait, no, no-- the kitchen wasn't-- I was helping him bake. We weren't going to-- I'm-- I just wanted to help. Pure intentions, I swear. We're friends."

"No worries, man. I totally believe you."

"It's true."

"For sure," Ransom said with a wink.

Before Jack had another chance to object, Bitty hopped into their conversation. "Look, Mr. Zimmermann. My wrist doesn't even hurt anymore!" Bitty showed off by wriggling his fingers, and bending at his wrist forwards and backwards. "Alcohol numbed _alllll_ of my pain!" He let out an honest to goodness giggle that Jack found way too endearing.

"Wrong wrist, bro." Ransom pointed out Bitty's bandaged left wrist, while he continued to show off with his uninjured right side.

Bitty looked down at his left hand. "Well, shit." He followed his momentary disappointment with another laugh and a shrug. "Oh, well! Still can't feel it! Score one more point for tub juice!"

As if saying "tub juice" was the magical spell that summoned him, Shitty appeared with a pitcher of the mystery drink and topped off the other three men's cups. Jack didn't even have time to explain that he had switched to drinking water. At least his portion would be somewhat diluted. He took a sip.

"So! Jack!" Bitty bumped up against him playfully with his shoulder. "I was thinking..."

"Yes?"

"How about we go skating?"

Jack blinked. "Uh... right now?"

Bitty laughed and grabbed Jack's arm for balance. "No, you silly boy! Instead of the gym for Sunday's workout. What better way to work on your speed than on actual skates?"

"Oh. Yeah. That sounds good."

"Yeah? Good." Bitty gulped down some more of his drink. "S'good." He smiled at Jack, cheeks pink from the alcohol and the sweat he had worked up on the dance floor.

Ransom gave Jack an encouraging nudge before leaving them alone. Jack cleared his throat. "Oh, uh... I just thought about something? Maybe we--" Jack took a big sip of his tub juice for courage. "We should go eat some food after skating. Maybe like for dinner, maybe?"

"Oh! That would be great! There's this pita place right by the iceplex that I've been dying to try. I have a bogo coupon, so my treat!"

"Oh? I was thinking I would--"

"I have a _coupon_ , Mr. Zimmermann. It'll cost like ten bucks. Let me buy something from the fast-food pita chain. I insist."

Jack had been aiming for a more romantic date-type restaurant, but it was clear Bitty was not going to budge. "Okay. It's a da-- it sounds good. Good plan."

"Good. Plus the coupon expires next week so this timing is perfect." Bitty typed the details for Sunday into the calendar on his phone. 

"What time should I pick you up on Sunday?"

"Oh you don't have to worry about me. I can meet you there."

Jack winced. Maybe all of this was Bitty's way of letting him down gently because he was not interested in a date. "It's not a bother. I mean, I'm driving right past this place anyway."

Bitty smiled. "Well, if you're sure you won't mind... Okay. Sounds lovely."

Jack let out a small sigh of relief. "Okay good. What time?"

"I think probably around 2:00? Keep it roughly the same time as our appointment would have been at the gym?"

That would put them in line for a roughly 4:00pm dinner at a fast-food pita chain. On a Sunday. With a coupon. Not exactly what Jack had in mind when he built up the nerve to ask Bitty on a date, but he was going to take whatever he could get to spend more time outside of training with him. Jack took another gulp of his tub juice. "Say, what's in 'tub juice' any--"

Bitty pressed a finger to Jack's lips to stop him mid-question. "Shhhhhhhhhhhh! It's better if you don't ask." Due to the effects of said tub juice, Bitty's finger landed more towards the corner of Jack's mouth than his actual lips. He promptly corrected himself by giving Jack's lips a gentle poke. "Hah! Soft... I _knew_ it."

Jack let out a surprised laugh and took a step back, replacing his cup to his lips where Bitty had just touched for another gulp of tub juice. "Maybe it's time for some water, Bittle."

"But, I--" Bitty gasped loudly and shook Jack by the arm. "AFTER THIS SONG!!! Let's dance!"

Bitty's attempt to tug Jack towards the makeshift dancefloor in the centre of the living room proved unsuccessful. Jack planted himself against the wall. "No, I really shouldn't. Maybe later," he added, without any intention of following through.

Jack had already seen the way Bitty danced, and he seemed to be a very "hands on" kind of drunk. The more Bitty touched him, the more Jack wanted to touch him back, but he was sober enough to know that they were both too drunk for that right now. Dancing would undoubtedly lead to kissing, and Jack did not want that to happen in a room full of strangers while Bitty was so obviously not in his right mind. Bitty was wonderful, and his friends clearly loved him dearly, and if by some small chance Jack had a shot with him in the future, he didn't want to ruin the group of college friends' opinions of him by coming across as some jerk who would make a move on their drunk friend.

Instead, Jack snuck back around to the kitchen for more water. He went to dump the rest of his tub juice down the sink, but discovered that his cup was mostly empty. Had he seriously drank it all? That was not a good sign. Water was definitely in order.

Jack poured himself a glass of water and immediately gulped it down before pouring another. His head was spinning -- it had been a while since he had been this drunk. "Ugh."

"Whoa. Zimmermann. You feeling okay?" 

Jack tried to remember the name of Bitty's roommate, but it was escaping him at the moment. He was not the birthday boy, that much Jack remembered. The one he had been talking to with Bitty earlier. He was also definitely not dating Bitty, which made Jack smile. "Good."

"Really? No offense, dude? But you look like hell. How much have you had to drink?"

"Oh. Uh... three? Maybe?" Jack chuckled awkwardly. "I don't really drink much, uh, anymore... I... I'm gonna stick to water for a bit."

Ransom manoeuvred his way into Jack's eyeline when he didn't maintain eye contact. "Hey. Maybe you should sit down for a bit, bro."

"Yeah, probably a good idea," Jack agreed as he focused back on Ransom through his drunken haze. 

"You can take a breather in Bitty's room if you want. Just promise not to hurl. Maybe crack a window and get some fresh air. Take it easy, buddy." Ransom showed him towards Bitty's bedroom. "Bits won't mind. Guys do this all the time."

"All the time?"

"We've all been friends a long time. From college. Many drunken parties have been had with this team." Ransom helped Jack get settled on the bed. "You're _sure_ you're not gonna puke, right?"

"I promise," Jack said as he stretched out on his back. "I think I just need a couple minutes."

"Sounds good. Sweet dreams, bro."

"I'm not gonna sleep," Jack insisted after Ransom had already closed the door behind him. 

Jack promptly fell asleep.

 

******

 

Bitty stumbled into his room sometime between 2:30 and 3:00am, when most of their guests had either gone home or passed out on various pieces of furniture. He chugged half a bottle of water and placed it on his nightstand before stripping off his shirt and shorts and crawling into bed. "Ooh, hello?" He laughed when he bumped up against a warm body.

"Ungh?"

"Holster? Am I... in the wrong room again?" Bitty asked, blinking in confusion in his dark room. No, this was definitely his bed, but who was in it? "Rans?" Bitty patted down the body next to him, and in a moment of drunken logic, tried to sniff his shoulder for a hint of the tell-tale deodorant Ransom always used. It wasn't Ransom.

Jack flinched and rolled over at the unusual action. "Bittle?"

"Jack?"

"Did you just sniff me?"

"I thought you were Ransom."

That explanation made no sense to Jack, but he was still too drunk to argue. "Sorry. Do you want me to leave?"

"No. Stay..." Bitty shifted closer and nuzzled against Jack's chest. The heat felt good on his forehead and helped stay off the early signs of his impending hangover.

"Are you sure?"

"Mmhm..." Bitty inched the rest of his body closer and slid one arm around Jack's waist. He tilted his head and placed a small kiss on the soft skin on Jack's neck.

"Bittle..." Jack said quietly.

"Mm, yes Mr. Zimmermann?" Bitty got a little more confident when Jack didn't push him away. He moved up to kiss Jack on the lips, and when Jack reciprocated, Bitty's hands slid under his shirt.

Every inch of Jack's body wanted to continue, but he was sobering up just enough to know that this was a bad idea. "Bittle, wait."

"Wait?"

"I just--" Jack gave in momentarily when Bitty kissed him again, and let his hand roam up Bitty's bare torso before regaining his thoughts. "No. You're-- We're _both_ a little too drunk, and I... I don't think we should do this right now."

Bitty was confused for a moment before his eyes went wide and he jolted back. "Oh my lord -- I am so sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to--"

Jack rushed to reassure Bitty, who was now horrified by what he had just done. "No, no. I-- I know you're _affectionate_ with your friends, I just--"

"I just came on in here and started kissing you like some **_creep_**." Bitty started to get out of bed. "I think I should go sleep on the couch with Chowder..."

Jack grabbed Bitty's wrist to stop him. "No, Bittle. Don't be ridiculous. This is your bed. If anyone should leave, it's me."

"You don't--"

"Just stay. Please? We've both had a little too much to drink. Let's just sleep it off, eh?"

Bitty cautiously climbed back into bed. "Okay. Sleep. If I do something weird in my sleep please let me know. I haven't really... um, _shared_ my bed with anyone in a while."

"Me neither."

"I might try to cuddle you, but just push me away to wake me up."

Jack chuckled quietly in the dark. "I wouldn't be opposed to a cuddle."

"Really?" Bitty asked. "You're serious?"

"Yeah. Sorry, is that weird?"

"No, not weird. Surprising, maybe... but I'm not about to object, I mean..." Bitty curled up against Jack. "I kinda miss having a boyfriend sometimes. All my friends are dating or married and I'm just some loser who can't find the one. And I don't even need that right now -- I know I have lots of time -- but still. I miss little things. Kisses good night, a warm body to hold while I sleep... I get a lot of hugs from friends, at least."

Jack wasn't sure what to say in response to Bitty's emotional drunk confession. He cleared his throat and wrapped an arm around Bitty. "Well... you can think of this as a night-long hug."

"Okay. Thanks." Bitty chuckled quietly.

Jack took a deep breath and caught scent of Bitty's hair. He expected Bitty would smell like cinnamon or vanilla, but instead it was mostly tub juice and sweat. If Jack was being completely honest, Bitty smelled gross, but he chalked that up to the night of hard drinking and harder dancing.

"And you're not a loser. You're... perfect," Jack whispered, but Bitty was already drifting off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for shenanigans!

Bitty woke up early the next morning to the sound of birds chirping outside his window. Why were they so loud? And why was the window open in the first place -- he closed it before the party so that the music wouldn't travel. 

He tried to roll over onto his stomach so he could bury his face in his pillow to shield it from the sunlight, but bumped up against something. And for a moment, Bitty forgot he didn't have a boyfriend. His eyes still closed, Bitty smiled, not opposed to the idea of some hangover sex. "Mmm, honey. Is that a banana in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

Jack woke up to the feeling of being groped gently, but firmly. "Huh?"

Bitty's eyes snapped open. "Jack?!"

Jack was not a fan of this déjà vu. "Yeah?"

"Why are you in my bed?!"

"I slept here!" Jack held up his hands in a surrender motion and pushed back against the wall. "Don't you remember?"

"No!" Bitty scrambled out of bed and paced the room, then looked down at his body. "Where are my clothes?" He saw his shirt on the ground and quickly put it on, tugging the bottom hem down as much as he could to hide his underwear. "Look away!"

Jack covered his eyes. "Sorry, sorry!"

Bitty was pulling on a pair of sweatpants when Holster burst into the room. "What the fuck-- Zimmermann?! How the hell did you get back in here? I thought you went home hours ago."

"I wasn't feeling well so I went to lie down and then I fell asleep!"

"In _my_ bed?!"

Ransom pushed through the crowd of friends now gathered around the door to Bitty's room. "Everyone calm down. _I_ was the one who told him to take a break on Bitty's bed."

"And you didn't think to tell _**me**_ this?" Bitty was starting to calm down a little, but was still frazzled.

"I _did_ tell you! But you just chugged the rest of your tub juice and tried to crush the solo cup on your forehead like a beer can, then walked away. I was so proud, but like, you were kinda outta control last night, Bits."

Bitty focused back on Jack. "Why was I naked?"

Upon hearing that, one of his friends from the hallway crowd shouted, "What?!" 

"You were wearing underwear!" Jack objected.

Holster's eyes narrowed and he stepped towards Jack, looking menacing. "If you laid a finger on him--"

"I didn't touch him!" Jack was sitting up now trying to prepare himself for the fact that at least half a dozen people were readying to beat him up. "Or, I mean-- technically I _did_ , but we just-- we cuddled!"

Jack closed his eyes and waited to be punched in the face by Holster, but that did not happen. Instead, he opened his eyes to discover that nearly all the tension had left the room. Someone in the hallway was outright laughing now, and Ransom was grinning like an idiot at Bitty. Even Holster covered his face with both hands and gave a frustrated groan. "Ugh. Yeah, that story checks out."

Ransom, seeing Jack's confusion, stepped up to explain. "That's kinda Bitty's _thing_. A very snuggly drunk."

"Ch'yeah. Didn't he try that once with you guys while you were fucking?" A woman's voice said and everyone erupted into snickers.

" ** _No_**. We're _not_ telling Jack Zimmermann of the Providence Falconers _that_ story!" Bitty's face went bright red.

"Ohh, I think we kinda have to now," Ransom teased.

Bitty sighed and hung his head in defeat. "Fine. Cliff notes version at least, please?"

"Okay. So here's what happened--" Ransom took a seat on Bitty's desk chair. "Bits got like _suuuper_ drunk. Probably the last time he got as drunk as he was last night."

"This is my favourite story," Nursey said from the doorway.

"The kegster was winding down and Holtzy and I went upstairs to... _be intimate._ " A few more snickers arose from their friends at Ransom's choice of words. "We didn't lock our bedroom door because basically everyone had passed out by then."

"But _then_ guess who busts in and strips down to his undies without so much as a knock? _That fucking guy,_ " Holster said with a finger pointed at Bitty.

Ransom started laughing. "And we were like, 'uhh, we love you Bits. But just as a friend,' and he just crawled into bed with us!"

"And I was like, 'Bitty what the hell?!' And what does he do?"

"He hugs up on Holtzy's arm and says, 'this is nice,' then falls asleep _immediately_." 

"Like a fucking _STONE!_ " Holster's voice boomed loudly, and everyone's laughter came out mixed with groans from their hangovers. "There was no waking him, either. I don't even remember who had to come get him."

"That would be me," said Dex.

"Oh that's right! Dex had to come grab him and carry him down to his own bed. Bits didn't remember a thing the next morning," Ransom said with another laugh.

Bitty chuckled, despite his embarrassment. "For the record, I **_still_** don't believe any of that really happened."

" **IT DEFINITELY HAPPENED,** " Ransom, Holster, and Dex all said in unison, prompting more laughter.

"But most importantly -- did you guys _finish?_ " Shitty asked, to a chorus of hoots and hollers.

"Of course we did. Everyone knows that Rans is powerless against my ways of seduction." Holster wiggled his eyebrows at his boyfriend.

"And on that note, clear the room." Bitty began gently shoving his friends out his bedroom door. "I need to talk to Jack alone for a moment."

Jack spoke up once they were finally alone. "I'm so sorry about all of this..."

"What? Jack, no. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I barely remember anything from last night, and when I woke up... I really wasn't expecting you to be there."

"I should have left last night when you wanted to go to sleep. I..." Jack looked down at his lap. "I don't really drink like that anymore. I was a little out of control too."

Bitty scoffed. "Oh, for sure. You went to sleep at what time, again?"

"It was probably some time around 11:00."

"What a party animal," Bitty teased.

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, well..."

"Jack," Bitty started and then sighed. "If you want me to stop being your trainer, I completely understand."

"What? Bittle, no. No way. Unless... _you_ want to stop?"

"No!" Bitty looked at Jack, then turned away as his face went red. "I'm just so embarrassed that I caused such a commotion just now. I hope you know that it wasn't because I suspected you of anything, um, _untoward_. I was just having trouble grasping-- oh, that's an _awful_ choice of words for a time like now-- getting a handle on the situation."

"It was okay, really."

"But it wasn't okay, Jack. I..." Bitty sighed again. "Thank you for not telling my friends that I touched your penis. They would _never_ let me live that one down."

Jack's eyes went wide. "Oh. That's not--"

"Also, I'm sorry that I touched your penis."

"We, uh, we really don't have to talk about it." Jack wanted to pull the blanket over his head and never show his face again.

"No, I have to. I know I wasn't completely awake at the time, but that doesn't excuse my doing something so brash. I promise I wasn't trying to make a move on you while you were asleep."

"I know that, Bittle. Of course. It was all just a big misunderstanding..." Jack inched over to the edge of the bed so that he was sitting next to Bitty. "You don't remember _anything_ from last night?"

Bitty laughed. "Well, that's not entirely true. I remember the first three drinks, and dancing with Rans and Holster, and... something about skating with... burritos? And I think I might have baked a batch of cupcakes with Dex? The rest of the night gets pretty hazy after that."

"Oh."

"And I thought you had left at some point because I hadn't seen you in a while, which made me a little sad that you didn't say goodbye. So, contrary to the world's worst wake-up call I gave you this morning... I'm actually happy that you stayed." Bitty flashed Jack a shy smile.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Bitty nodded and dared another glance over at Jack only to watch his smile fade into a frown. "What's wrong?"

"There's something else you need to know about last night," Jack admitted. "When you  came to bed--"

"Wait." Bitty turned and pressed a finger to Jack's lips to shush him. "Is this something that I'm going to be embarrassed about?"

Jack thought for a moment. "Yeah, probably."

"Then can we... maybe talk about this another time? I don't think I can handle any more humiliation in one morning. I'm already mortified beyond belief."

Bitty removed his finger from Jack's lips and dropped his hand to the bed between them. Jack placed his hand on top of Bitty's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Sure. Some other time." He hated the idea of Bitty not knowing that they had kissed the night before, but he would postpone that conversation if Bitty didn't want to talk about it right now.

"Thanks. You're really sweet." Bitty smiled, but kept his gaze on the floor rather than make eye contact with Jack.

"Takes one to know one." Jack had meant that sincerely, but when Bitty burst into laughter, he decided that was acceptable as well.

"That line was so cheesy you should add it to some fries and smother it in gravy." Bitty wiped a happy tear from his eye and stood up. He tugged on Jack's hand.

"Ah, the delicacy of my people," Jack said with a grin as Bitty tugged him to his feet.

Bitty laughed more. "Voulez-vous _manger_ avec moi?"

"Oui," Jack began, then proceeded to speak entire sentences of French that Bitty did not understand in the least. Jack laughed at the perplexed look on Bitty's face. " _Yes_ , Bittle."

"And what about the rest of the stuff you said just now? What did all that mean?"

"I said that I was impressed and was wondering if you had memorized that or if you could understand what I was saying too," Jack lied.

"Well, Mr. Zimmermann. The answer to that question is a _resounding_  'no.' Languages have never been my forte."

"Oh? And what _is_ your forte, Bittle?" Jack grinned.

Bitty replied with a joking scoff. "I beg your pardon? _Now_ who's the one forgetting about last night?"

Jack's eyes went wide as Bitty laughed. "You... so that was-- Bittle..." He gently took Bitty's other hand in his, careful of his sprained wrist.

"Don't think I didn't see you go back for seconds of that pie, mister." Bitty smiled and looked down at their hands. What are you--"

"How is your wrist feeling this morning?" Jack covered when he realized Bitty was not talking about their kiss after all.

"Pretty sore, actually. I don't know what I did last night, but I'm certainly paying for it this morning." Bitty laughed. 

"I don't think you got into too much trouble, at least. Looks like you have a pretty great group of friends out there."

Bitty tilted forward and rested his head against Jack's chest, his eyes cast down at the floor. "You're a pretty great friend, too."

"Thanks, Bittle. You're--"

"Oh my lord!" Bitty suddenly exclaimed when he spotted his shorts on the floor. "Did I wear _those_ last night?"

It took Jack a moment to notice what Bitty was looking at. "Oh! Haha yeah. I think you said they were from your college days?"

"They are!" Bitty hid his face back against Jack's chest and stifled more laughter. "Oh lord, did they even fit? They must have been so tight!"

Jack cleared his throat. "They uh, they were pretty tight." Bitty let out a distressed whimper. "But you looked really good, I promise."

Bitty lifted his head and locked eyes with Jack. The little flutter returned to his chest as he realized they were still holding hands. He never entertained the idea of pursuing any kind of relationship with a client outside work before -- even in friendship. But Jack? Jack was different. Bitty knew this was already inching past the limits of "friends" into something more, at least on his side. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted before he could get any words out.

"What are you doing to my kitchen?!" Holster could be heard shouting from the rest of the apartment.

"Uh-oh." Bitty broke away from Jack. "I should go check that out."

"Yeah, uh, that doesn't sound good..." Jack chuckled and followed Bitty out to survey the damage. 

"What are y'all hollering about over here?" Bitty rounded the corner to the kitchen to find pancake batter splattered around the room.

The culprits, Nursey and Farmer, meekly hung their heads. Nursey handed the spatula in his hand over to Bitty. "We thought we'd get a start on breakfast."

"But we forgot the lid on the blender," Farmer added. "Sorry."

Bitty sighed and shook his head as he took the spatula. "What am I going to do about you kids?" He chuckled, not actually mad. "Go wash up before all those splatters dry in your hair. And don't go far! You two are on clean-up duty. Chowder and Dex, too."

"What??? We didn't even do anything!" Chowder cried from the living room.

" _Precisely_ , sunshine. You know who you married. You could have prevented this. You too, Dex."

"Hey, do you see a ring on this finger? No ring, no responsibility," Dex objected and lifted his left hand to prove it was bare.

Nursey scoffed. "Pfft! Only because we had to get it re-sized."

The rest of the room went silent and everyone's eyes settled on either Dex or Nursey. Chowder finally broke the silence. " ** _WHAT???!!!_** "

Dex pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "Well, we were going to tell everyone during breakfast, but since the cat is out of the bag... Yeah. We're engaged. _No_ , we haven't picked a wedding date or any of that. Nurse proposed the day before yesterday, but didn't get the rings sized so there's nothing to show off either."

"Hey, it's not my fault you have freakishly bony fingers. They're like... spiders legs, or something!" Nursey dropped down onto the couch beside his fiancé and drummed his fingers across Dex's knee to mimick a spider scurrying.

Dex caught his hand and pulled Nursey in for a kiss. "Asshole."

"Nursey! Batter! Sink, now!" Bitty chastised him. "Dex, honey? Can you help me with breakfast? You don't have to clean after if you help me cook."

"Sure, Bitty."

Jack hesitated in the hallway, unsure of what to do until Bitty turned to him with a smile. "Will you stay for breakfast too, Jack? You were such a wonderful help yesterday, I'd love another hand with breakfast."

"Oh? Definitely." Jack smiled and joined the other two men in the now-crowded kitchen. 

Bitty did not want to exclude Jack, nor leave him to fend for himself amongst his friends, but he also knew it was for the best to have Dex around as a bit of a buffer. Things were getting too flirty and intense between himself and Jack. 

Once Bitty had squeezed every detail of the proposal out of him, Dex focused his attention on Jack. "So, Zimmermann... Bet your day turned out way different than you anticipated when you woke up yesterday, huh?"

" _Oh_ yeah." Jack chuckled. "But it was better. Fun. Oh-- except for you hurting your wrist, Bittle," he added quickly.

"Quit your worrying about it, I'll be fine." Bitty laughed. "I knew what you meant."

"Glad to see we didn't scare you off, either. Especially with Holster. I thought he was gonna punch you, for sure."

"Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, that was pretty scary." Jack shrugged. "But I get being worried about your friend, and nobody here knows me."

"I'm not so sure about that. We had a conversation last night... I think you revealed _quite_ a bit about yourself." Without another word, Dex picked up the first stack of pancakes and brought the plate out to the others waiting at the table.

Jack looked at Bitty, confused and a little worried until Bitty gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. "He's just teasing. Even if you did reveal some deep dark secret, Dex is not the kind of guy you need to worry about. Believe me," said Bitty.

"Okay, good. I trust you." Jack smiled, happy to have a moment alone with Bitty again in the crowded apartment. "So, for tomorrow--"

" _ **SYRUPPP!!!!!!**_ " A commotion broke out around the table.

"Who gives people pancakes without syrup?!"

"What kind of _monster_ are you???"

"I'm just bringing the food! I wasn't the one who set the damn table!" Dex shouted at his friends.

" ** _Holtzy_**."

"Hey! I got distracted by the mess that _those_ two assholes made!" Holster shouted back, presumably gesturing towards Farmer and Nursey.

"Oh, for-- Jack, honey. Can you grab the syrup before those idiots earn us a noise complaint with our landlord."

Jack did as he was asked, and ended up getting roped into a debate about "real" vs "fake" syrup. By the time he got back to the kitchen, Bitty was finishing the last batch of pancakes.

"Oh no. You got drawn into a syrup debate, didn't you?" Bitty guessed immediately when he saw Jack's face. "Rans and Holster start this up every time we have pancakes. You're Canadian, aren't you? You must like the real stuff."

Jack chuckled. "Yeah."

Bitty waved Jack in close and spoke in a whisper as though he were about to reveal a scandalous secret. "Between you and me? Ransom doesn't actually mind the 'fake' stuff. He told me so himself. He just likes to dig his heels in when Holster chirps him about being Canadian."

"Where in Canada is he from?"

"Toronto."

Jack laughed. "Well _that_ explains it."

Bitty handed over the large plate of pancakes and nudged Jack out of the kitchen. "Excuse _you_ , Mr. Zimmermann, but that explains _nothing_ to me."

"--so obvious it's actually kinda painful," Lardo finished saying, and the table fell uncomfortably silent when Bitty and Jack entered the room. 

"These are really good pancakes, Bitty." Chowder broke the suspicious silence after ten very long seconds.

"Thank you, sunshine." Bitty smiled, then cleared his throat. "Ransom, Jack here seems to think that you don't fully appreciate the 'real' maple syrup because you're from Toronto."

Jack laughed at how readily Bitty had just thrown him under the bus in front of all his friends. "All I meant was that Québec has a much bigger connection to maple syrup."

"Oh, so it's going to be like that, huh?" Ransom grinned.

"Wait. Is this real? This is some big Canadian rivalry?" Farmer looked between them both with a laugh.

"I just-- Okay. Québec produces most of the maple syrup in the world, and there's a whole federation that puts all these restrictions and it is pretty controversial but people outside of Québec don't really even know about it. It's a big deal back home, is all I meant."

"The man is a syrup connoisseur!" Shitty declared. "Do you have expensive bottles of syrup that you save only for special occasions? Like with wine or scotch?"

Jack chuckled. "No. But syrup is pretty expensive. Way more than oil. Like, at least ten times more." That made the rest of the table laugh. "It's true!"

"I'm googling it," Chowder said as he pulled out his phone. 

"There was even a big heist years ago where people stole millions of dollars worth of syrup from a storage facility."

"Oh shit. I remember when that happened," Ransom said, immediately turning to Holster in anticipation for the chirp he knew was coming. "Yes, that's the most Canadian crime ever. _I know_."

"It's like the whole country is **_begging_** to be made fun of. What choice do I have?"

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please. We're losing sight of the most important detail here," Shitty spoke up again. "That of course being that Jack Zimmermann is a godammed fucking _nerd_." He grinned at Jack.

"Oh, we knew that already. This fucking dweeb was going to watch a WWII documentary instead of coming to my party last night," Holster told everyone else.

"Syrup is 13x more expensive than oil, by the way. According to this article, at least," Chowder added quickly before putting his phone back down. "Aren't you glad you stayed for the party instead, Zimmermann?"

"Very," Jack said, then blushed. "I, uh... I hope I behaved okay. I don't remember everything. I don't really drink much... anymore."

If anyone sitting at the table knew about Jack's stint in rehab when he was younger, they didn't let on. Nursey chirped him instead. "Well who can blame you? Those war documentaries are a pretty wild ride all own their own."

"I know, right?" Jack replied seriously.

"Oh, honey, no..." Bitty patted his arm and shook his head. "Just... no."

The corner of Jack's mouth twitched when Bitty called him "honey" in front of his friends, then cracked into a full-blown smile when he heard Bitty laugh, even if it was at his expense. "What? History class was _so_ cool," he insisted, causing Bitty to laugh harder. 

"You're using the word wrong, bro."

"It was basically just reading," Jack continued, drawing more chirps.

Lardo coughed loudly into her hand, and it sounded suspiciously close to the word "nerd." She cleared her throat. "Oh, excuse me. I think it's my allergies acting up."

"Oh? What are you allergic to?" Ransom asked, playing into her bit.

"Pollen, strawberries, nerds with lame-ass hobbies..."

"I think that's enough teasing Jack for one morning," Bitty began as the laughter died down. "--even if he loves _remarkably_ dull activities."

Jack grinned. "What was _your_ favourite class in school, Bittle? I bet you were great at home ec."

"Oh, I wish! Daddy didn't let me take home ec class. Said I spent enough time baking at home and that I should try to branch out a little. I had to take shop class like a _real man_." Bitty smiled through his story.

"Mood, Bits. My dad didn't want me taking _any_ of those elective classes. He was like, 'can't you just take an extra science class? Become a doctor like me, you can pay someone else to build things for you'," Ransom said.

"Pfft! Yeah, my old man never even cared what I did in high school, as long as it would help me get into Harvard," Shitty added.

"Okay, let's not get into the whole 'daddy issues' stuff this early in the morning." Dex tapped his glass with his fork to get everyone's attention. "We're all _way_ too hung over for this shit."

"Yeah, you're right," Ransom agreed and quickly changed the subject. "So, Bits. What do you plan to do to Zimmermann tomorrow?"

Bitty's eyes went wide. "What? I-- I don't have anything _planned_. I-- How-- **_Why_** would you ask something like that? I don't, like, _scheme_ to--"

"Bits, whoa. Relax. I was talking about the skating tomorrow."

"Oh." Bitty blushed deep red. "Wait. What?"

"Yeah, I'm picking you up at 2:00, remember? You wanted to work on some stuff on the ice." Jack tried his best to fill Bitty in on their entire conversation from the night before. "It will be fun."

Nursey let out a sharp laugh. "Oh, you poor naïve bastard. You're _fuuucked_. Bits is a menace on the ice."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I'm so excited for Jack to get a taste of how strict Bitty can be on the ice. He is not prepared. Stay tuned for ch 5!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack has realized that he likes Bitty being a little bossy, also that he is NOT to be underestimated on the ice.

The whistle screeched and Jack returned to his starting point, breathing hard. "How was that?"

" _Better_..."

"But?"

"What did I tell you? About angles?" Bitty asked.

"Ninety degrees."

"And what were your legs just now?"

Jack chuckled. "I have no clue..." He expected Bitty to laugh too, but was met with the same serious expression. "Um... _Not_ ninety degrees I guess, eh?"

"Here." Bitty let the stopwatch drop from his hand to hang from the strap around his neck. "May I touch you?"

"Please," Jack answered a little too quickly for his own liking. "Um, yes. That's okay."

"Okay. So," Bitty began as he gently placed one hand on Jack's shoulder and the other on his thigh. "You're overcorrecting. When I say ninety degrees, I don't mean like you're sitting in a chair. It's more about the angle of your knees and your hips, not your ankles since you need to lean forward. So what I'm seeing is you going like this... but it should be more like _this_." Bitty guided Jack from the incorrect position to the correct one.

"Oh."

"How does that feel?"

"Yeah, it's good."

"Good. Now try to really burn the way this feels into your brain, because I don't think the NHL would approve of me zipping out to position you like some kind of mannequin before every shoot out."

"Won't know until we try?" Jack grinned.

" _Highly_ doubtful, Mr. Zimmermann."

"Maybe if--" Jack's words were drowned out by sharp sound of Bitty's whistle. "Shit!" He sprinted clumsily down the ice until Bitty blew his whistle again for him to return. "You caught me off guard there."

"The puck can change directions in a split second -- you have to be on your toes."

"Right."

"And it's important to know how to get into the correct stance quickly because obviously you're not going to stand like this while taking a faceoff. So you'll--" Bitty stopped mid-sentence and suddenly blew his whistle, forcing Jack to sprint off unprepared once again. "What did I _just_ say?" He teased as Jack skated back to him laughing.

"I need to stay on my toes."

Bitty grinned. "Precisely. I meant that _literally_ too, you know. To get the most distance out of your first few strides, you should really dig in your toes." Bitty gave a short demonstration. "See what I mean?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Bitty blew the whistle instead of responding, and ran Jack through three more drills in quick succession. "Toes, toes, toes!" Bitty shouted at Jack to remind him when he had a less stellar start to his next sprint. "Again."

As Jack skated back to Bitty after his last drill, Bitty skated away. "Bittle?"

Bitty grabbed two sticks and a bucket of pucks from the bench where he had left them at the start of practice. "Ready for the next step?"

"I dunno, Bittle. You run a pretty tight ship."

"Don't you forget it." Bitty tossed a stick at Jack when he got close enough. For this exercise, you're going to try to steal the puck from me."

"That's all?" Jack didn't mean to toot his own horn or anything, but he was a professional hockey player. Sure Bitty was skilled -- Jack had seen some clips from.his college days, it was why he had asked Bitty to be his trainer to begin with -- but that was at least two years ago.

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you for the first couple rounds," Bitty said with a wink.

"You really think you can beat me, Bittle?"

"Oh I _know_ I can, sweetheart." Bitty instructed Jack to stand on the left side of the net, while Bitty took a puck and stood at the right side. "In fact," Bitty began as he changed his mind and skated back against the boards. "I'll even give you a bit of a head start."

Jack loved witnessing this chirpy confident side of Bitty. "Are you sure about that? I've been in skates since about a week after I learned to walk." He grinned.

"I can skate _circles_ around you, Mr. Zimmermann, and I have a wall full of trophies and medals back home in Georgia to prove it if you don't believe me."

Jack laughed. "I think I'd like to see some proof, yeah."

"How about this -- you get the puck from me at least three out of ten times, and I'll text my mama to send a picture of my childhood bedroom."

"Only three times? Deal."

Bitty toyed with the puck back and forth with his stick as he spoke, getting a feel for how his injured wrist would affect his stick handling. "Let's set some ground rules. First of all, no checking. Also, you're going to focus on your speed only until we cross the blue line, _then_ you're free to try your darndest to get this here puck. We'll loop once around the opposite net, then skate back here. If you can't get the puck from me in that time, then you lose that round. Lose eight times and you'll have to figure out some other way to impress me if you really want to see my trophy wall."

"Are you going to give me a head start each time?" Jack asked.

"If you can beat me at least _once_ from these starting lines, I'll even us up. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like you'll be joining me up here at the net for round two," Jack chirped.

"I admire your misplaced confidence, Mr. Zimmermann," Bitty chirped right back. "Ready? Set. Go!" 

With a quick whistle blow they were off. Bitty took an easy lead, rounding the net at the far end of the ice before Jack even reached it. Bitty cleared the finish line at the end of the loop a good three feet ahead of Jack, an easy win.

"I'm disappointed you would go easy on me."

"I didn't," Jack insisted.

"I'm no fool, Jack Zimmermann. I want to see a real effort this time around."

"Yes, sir."

Bitty won the second time around, but he could tell that Jack made a genuine effort to catch up to him that time. "Good try. Don't forget those toes next time."

"Right. Thanks, Bittle."

Bitty won again the third time, but it was only due to Jack's inability to steal the puck from him. They crossed the finish line neck-in-neck. Bitty called a brief time-out before the fourth round to correct Jack's position once more. "May I touch you again?"

"Of course. You don't have to ask me every time."

"Actually, I do. Like, legally I do. I can't just go putting my hands on my clients wherever I like without their consent. Especially after yesterday morning when I--"

"You really don't have to worry about that. I w--" Jack had the good sense to stop his mouth before it said any more words. No matter how that sentence ended, it would be inappropriate. He wanted Bitty to? He wished they could have kept going? He was hoping they would get another chance to try again soon? "I understood. It's really not a big deal, Bittle. You don't have to feel bad."

Bitty gave a soft sigh and smiled. "Thanks, Jack."

Jack still felt guilty that Bitty could not remember kissing him the night before, but decided to wait until after their training session was over. Bitty seemed distressed enough at the sudden recollection of groping Jack the morning before while half-asleep. He wanted to wait until they were somewhere with absolute privacy, like in his car on the ride home -- they ran the risk an iceplex employee could hear their voices carrying across the empty rink.

Bitty guided Jack into the proper stance. "Remember: right angles, but still leaning forward. And what else?"

"Toes."

"Right. You're running out of chances to see my childhood bedroom. You better give me all you've got this time, Mr. Zimmermann."

"I promise."

Jack, true to his word, got an early edge on Bitty and managed to steal the puck before they reached the other end of the ice. He was too nice to be smug about it, but he was definitely pleased with his performance when he smiled at Bitty.

Damn, that smile was still so disarming. Bitty thought back to the day before, when he had said goodbye to Jack at the door of his apartment, then turned around to spot Holster spying around the corner.

 

_"Did they kiss??" Chowder asked eagerly._

_"I don't think so."_

_"Holster!" Bitty followed after him. "What was that about?"_

_"Holster drew the short straw and had to be the spy. We were taking bets on whether or not you were gonna make out with Zimmermann."_

_"Don't you go making a mountain out of a molehill. We're just friends."_

_"Uhh, except he's like **super** into you," Lardo said._

_Bitty scoffed but Dex chimed in to agree with her. "Yeah, he basically just talked about you to everyone all night."_

_"That means nothing. I'm the only link he has to any of you. It makes sense for him to bring me up in conversation with my friends."_

_"Ch'yeah, but you should've seen the look on his face when he found out that you weren't banging Ransom and Holster."_

_" **WHAT?!** " All three roommates asked at once._

_"Ohhh. Shit. Holtzy. Your joke about Bits and I messing around when I helped him with his jeans!" Ransom realized._

_It struck Bitty too that Jack had backed off on what had been somewhat flirty banter after that moment. Still, it wasn't possible that Jack meant any of that seriously. He probably just didn't want Ransom and Holster to misunderstand. "That's... He's not interested in me like that."_

_"I don't know, Eric. He gets this dumb little smile on his face when he looks at you," Farmer added._

_"And brah? Holy fucking shit. When you put on those little shorts? He straight up had to leave the room!" Shitty laughed._

_Holster sighed. "He seems to have good intentions, I guess. And like, he's never explicitly come out in as many words or anything? But he does that stuff for pride games and You Can Play and stuff. And there have been rumours before from back when he was a rookie. It's not impossible that he could have a crush on you."_

_"Plus, you're great. I definitely think he's into you," Chowder said._

_"-- **BUT** if he turns out to be another prick trying to use you on the down-low I am **absolutely** gonna kick his ass," Holster added._

_"Brah. Same." Lardo nodded her head._

_"Y'all are sweet, but I assure you that this is just a big misunderstanding."_

 

Even if his friends were right, it didn't matter. Jack was his client for at least the rest of the summer, and Bitty did not want to cross that line. He cleared his throat and skated up to the net for an even starting line with Jack. "Good job. Are you ready? I'm going to make this a little more difficult for you."

"I'm always up for a challenge."

Bitty took another easy lead, and skated backwards around the net to chirp Jack while still managing to keep the puck on his stick. "You're going to have to work harder than that, sweetheart."

Jack pushed himself and surged forward faster, but Bitty managed to keep the puck away with a quick spin out of the way and skated forward the rest of the way back down the ice. "I thought I had you there." Jack laughed.

Jack tried his best, but only managed to eek out one more win against Bitty, leaving him one race short of earning a glimpse of Bitty's trophy wall. "Good work, today. You'll be giving me a run for my money in no time, I'm sure of it."

"Don't you mean a skate for your money, Bittle?"

"No. _Definitely_ not." Bitty laughed and gave Jack a tap on the back of his legs with his hockey stick. "Go shower up."

Jack snickered. "Okay, Bittle."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! There's a bit of angst next chapter, but also some laughs. Stay tuned!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of an angsty chapter, apologies in advance!

Bitty finished putting away the equipment he had borrowed while Jack headed off to the locker room. He sniffed his own armpit. "Eugh!" And with that, Bitty decided that a shower was definitely in order for himself as well. He was glad to have worn his work shirt on the ice so that he could change into his clean regular clothes afterwards.

He peeked into the shower area and was relieved to see that the shower stalls had curtains for privacy. Bitty knew the sight of Jack Zimmermann in all his natural glory was not something he could handle right now. He quickly stripped down and wrapped himself in a towel, popping into the closest stall while Jack was still busy.

Bitty hadn't expected what came next. Jack Zimmermann was singing in the shower. Did he realize that Bitty was in the room? Was this a regular occurance for Jack's Falconers teammates? Bitty couldn't recognize the song, it was in French after all.

Bitty didn't know any of the words, but it seemed as though Jack couldn't remember them all either. Jack kept breaking up the lyrics to hum the tune instead, and it was too endearing for Bitty to take. He turned off his water while he shampooed his hair, just so that he could listen better to Jack's half-singing.

He tried to remember Jack from before they had met. When he was Jack Zimmermann of the Providence Falconers, giving awkward monotone TV interviews in between periods of hockey games. In such a short time, Bitty had seen such a vastly different side to Jack. His public image seemed like an entirely different person. The real Jack was still pretty awkward, if Bitty was being completely honest, but he was also silly, and warm, and determined, and had a sincerity in his eyes sometimes that shook Bitty to his core.

Jack singing grew a little louder, then came to an abrupt halt. "Bittle?"

Bitty had been so focused on Jack's voice, that he hadn't realized the shower had stopped. From the sound of it, Jack had paused just outside Bitty's stall. "...Yes?"

"Could you hear that?"

"Um... Maybe a little?"

"Oh boy."

"You have a lovely voice, at least from what I could hear." Bitty's attempt at reassurance was met with silence. "...Jack?"

"...Are you showering? Or just hiding in that stall?" Jack asked finally.

Bitty laughed. "Showering. Just about to rinse off. I'll see you out there when I'm done!" He turned the water back on to put an end to the awkward conversation, and hoped Jack would be fully dressed by the time he was finished. Preferably waiting outside rather than in the locker room.

No such luck. Instead, Jack appeared to have gotten distracted halfway through dressing and was currently sitting shirtless on a bench looking intensely at something on his phone and typing.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes!" Jack seemed surprised to see Bitty standing only a few feet away and wearing only a towel. He tossed his phone further down the bench as he stood to busy himself with his gym bag. "I, uh, sorry. I was just-- Sorry, I should finish getting dressed."

"No, totally. Um, me too. I just wanted to..." Bitty's words trailed off as he watched Jack's back muscles flex. "You know what? I'm going to put on some pants and let you finish getting dressed and we can talk after that. Sound good?"

"Okay, yeah. Good," Jack replied without turning back around. He finished pulling on his shirt and hastily headed out of the locker room with his bag. "I'll go wait outside."

"Hoo boy!" Bitty sighed with relief and sank onto the bench, nearly landing on Jack's cell phone. "Oops!" He decided to finish dressing instead of calling Jack back in to get his phone.

Bitty picked up the phone right as an incoming text message lit up the notification screen. He frowned deeply as he read the words "you're so fucking pathetic" from someone named Kenny. No wonder Jack had been acting so strange. Who the hell did this "Kenny" think he was to be harassing Jack this way?

"Did I leave my phone in-- oh. Thanks, Bittle." Jack smiled when Bitty joined him in the hallway and handed the phone back to him. Bitty was still frowning. "Is something wrong?"

"With me? No. But... Are you sure you are okay?"

"Yeah. A little embarrassed about the singing thing, but yeah." Jack laughed it off.

"I'm really sorry about eavesdropping," Bitty apologized as they walked to Jack's car. "You really do have a nice voice. I didn't understand any of the words, but the sound was nice. And, um, the humming was cute too. Or, not _cute_ per se, but calming."

Jack laughed off the compliment awkwardly. "I bet you have a nice voice, too."

Bitty laughed this time. "Well, you would **_lose_** that bet, Mr. Zimmermann. I have confirmation from many friends and lov-- many _friends_ over the years that I could not carry a tune if I had a ten gallon bucket."

"Well, lucky for you, I have no idea how much ten gallons is." Jack flashed him a cheeky grin.

"It is a lot. A very _large_ bucket," Bitty explained as he sat down in the passenger seat of Jack's car. "I usually only sing loud when I know I'm alone... Or during my morning shower after Rans and Holster have kept me up half the night having sex. Oh! By that I don't mean that they kept _me_ up having sex, like _with me_. I meant it like that I had to hear them all night because our bedrooms are right next to each other."

Jack blushed. "Oh. I guess your friends told you about that, huh?"

"It wasn't to make fun of _you_ , I assure you. They like to tease me about things like that because of the whole..." Bitty sighed in defeat, unable to believe he was about to discuss the same embarrassing story again. "That whole me getting drunk and trying to cuddle them while they were _being intimate_ thing." He made a point of using the same phrase Ransom had used the day before.

"Oh, haha. Yeah."

Bitty cleared his throat. "To be clear -- I have never had sex with either one of them. There was one little drunken make out session with Holster my freshman year... And another slightly more intense makeout session with Ransom a few months later but it didn't go further than some harmless groping. And they were not a couple back then, just for the record. This was all way before that."

"Oh, uh, okay. Cool." Jack pulled out his phone pretending to look up directions to the pita restaurant. "...Is that something you, uh, do a lot? Kiss friends when you drink?"

"Oh lord, I hope not. I'd like to think I grew out of that by graduation." Bitty laughed. "I even kissed Lardo once!"

Jack felt a twist in his stomach. Maybe Bitty kissing him was a misunderstanding after all. Still, Bitty deserved to know that it happened. He looked up from his phone. "Bittle, I--"

Bitty hated seeing the upset look crossing Jack's face as he looked at his phone screen. "I saw your phone!" Bitty confessed. "When you forgot it in the locker room. A text came in just as I picked it up to bring it to you. I know you _just_ caught me eavesdropping while you sang but I wasn't snooping this time, I promise."

Jack was taken aback by Bitty's sudden outburst. "That's... Okay. I trust you," he tried his best to reassure Bitty, then froze when he considered which of the recent text messages he might have seen. "Shit. Um... What did it say?"

"Let me just preface it by saying that I think you're really wonderful, and I know hockey -- or any sport, really -- can be a den of toxic masculinity that makes men think they have to be tough and stoic when something is wrong -- which is garbage, by the way -- and if someone is bothering you, you should tell--"

"Whoa, slow down. What?"

"It was some guy calling you 'fucking pathetic' but he's _**wrong**_. You're _amazing_ , and he--"

Jack laughed. "Bittle. That's just my friend giving me a hard time. I was asking him for advice about something."

Bitty scoffed. "Some _advice_..."

"That's just how he talks sometimes." Jack twisted in his seat to face Bitty and smiled. "Were you worried about me?"

Bitty scoffed again. "Well, _obviously_. But... Okay, _fine_. My friends like to chirp me about stuff, too. I get it."

"Was that the only message you saw?"

"Yes, I promise."

Jack took a deep breath. "Hey, Bittle? I have to tell you something about the other night. When you first found me in your bed... You kissed me too. A couple times. And I know now that it didn't mean anything and that it's just something that you do with friends sometimes when you drink, but I didn't feel right keeping it from you when you were too drunk to remember."

"That's..." Bitty looked away and covered his face. "I'm very sorry, Jack. I'm so embarrassed."

"It's okay. You don't have to be _embarrassed_. I... Bittle, I really--"

"Jack. Please," Bitty interrupted him with his face still covered. No wonder Jack had been acting so strangely, especially in the locker room. Bitty wouldn't want to be anything but fully clothed around some creepy guy that kissed him without his consent. "You're very sweet, but I deserve to feel bad about this. I don't think I should be your trainer anymore."

Jack's heart sank. "What? Bittle, no. Please don't do this. I want-- You're so-- Fuck. Just-- please stay? I really like having you as a trainer... even if I think I'm going to be feeling today's workout for a week."

That made Bitty give a small chuckle. "Yeah, right."

"Well, the rest of the weekend, at least. Your friend Nursey was right. You're really tough on the ice. You know your stuff." Jack smiled when the tension inside the parked car eased a little. "I think I'm really lucky to have found you, and I know you're going to help me improve my game a lot."

"I'm sure there are _plenty_ of talented people who could do a much better job than me. You're the best player in the league."

"Are you kidding? Bittle. It's _because_ people think I'm the best in the league that I need your help. You know how many people assume I'll be fine, or just having an off day, or need to keep doing what I'm doing? I want a challenge. I _need_ it. **_You_** challenge me."

Bitty stayed quiet while Jack spoke this time, trying to take in everything he said. It was nice to hear that Jack respected him as a trainer, but that also made the entire situation hurt more, because he knew his first responsibility was to Jack his client. "Thank you for saying that. It means a lot."

"I meant every word. Please don't quit."

Bitty sighed softly. "Okay, but... I don't know why you're so forgiving of me just kissing you like that without your permission."

"It was a surprise, I'll admit." Jack chuckled and took a deep breath. "But it wasn't _unwelcome_..."

Bitty's breath caught in his throat as Jack's words tumbled around in his brain. "Oh. Uh..."

"It's okay if you don't feel the same way. Let's just go grab some lunch." Jack pulled out of the parking spot and focussed on the road rather than looking at Bitty for his reaction.

Their meal was uncomfortable and awkward. Jack's vague declaration hung heavy in the air between them. Bitty wanted to assure Jack that he felt the same, but there was too much on the line. Not only for Bitty's job, but for Jack's career as a public figure. He had dated one deeply closeted man already this year, he wasn't sure he could handle the pressure of another secret relationship.

"Here," Bitty showed Jack his phone in an effort to relieve the tension. "You worked hard today, I think you deserve to see this either way."

Jack smiled at first when he saw the photo of Bitty's childhood bedroom, his amusement slowly morphing into shock when he began to take in the vast collection of trophies and awards. "Wow. Is this... all from hockey?"

Bitty laughed and went to take his phone back, suddenly embarrassed. Jack kept it away while he continued to marvel at the picture. "A few are, but most are from my figure skating days."

"Figure skating?"

"Yeah. I competed a lot when I was younger. Before hockey."

"When did you start hockey?"

"High school. It took some adjusting, but I figured it out eventually."

Jack was awe-struck. "You're incredible, you know that?"

"Oh, _please_." Bitty rolled his eyes and laughed.

"I asked for your help for a reason, Bittle. I saw the tapes from your college days. To think you got that good in just a few years of playing. That's really incredible."

"This coming from _Jack Zimmermann_."

"I'm serious, though. I've known guys who have played their whole lives and not been half as good as you. You must have put in a lot of hard work."

Bitty smiled shyly. "I did... Thank you, Jack. You're very kind."

"I'm not saying anything but the truth. I mean it," Jack insisted.

"I know," Bitty replied quietly and took a messy bite of his pita. "Oh lord..." he grumbled as he wiped at his mouth with a napkin.

Jack chuckled when Bitty pulled out his cell phone and opened his camera. "Late for your five o'clock selfie, Bittle?"

"Very funny, Mr. Zimmermann. I'm just using the selfie camera to make sure I don't have a big glop of sauce somewhere." Bitty turned his head to make sure he wasn't missing anything. "Why on earth did I insist on us coming here of all places?"

"The coupon. You were really excited about using it."

"The-- for crying out loud, I forgot I had a coupon for this place!" Bitty pulled out his wallet and tossed the coupon onto the table. "I wish drunk me remembered to write sober me notes... I wish drunk me remembered a lot of things, actually."

"I tried to convince you to let me treat you to a nicer meal, but you insisted. Maybe you can use that 'bogey' coupon some other time?"

"Bogey?" Bitty looked down and saw line "Buy-One-Get-One free" in bright yellow writing. "Oh, _BOGO!_ Alas, it expires this week."

"That's too bad."

"It's okay. I... won't be coming back here again." 

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, it's not so great, huh?"

" _Horrendous_."

"The food may not be much, but at least the company was wonderful," Jack said with that same smile he always had when saying something equal parts charming and cheesy.

"Pfft." Bitty rolled his eyes and laugh. Jack grinned proudly, just happy to make Bitty smile. "You are something else, Jack Zimmermann."

Jack chuckled. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Bitty said it with a smile, but the words stung inside. No good could come of this. As incredible as it felt to spend time with Jack, there was a feeling of inevitable ending. 

"I hope it's good."

Bitty cleared his throat and wiped his face again with his napkin. "We should probably head out. It's almost five o'clock."

"Oh? Okay. Yeah. Did you want to maybe go for--"

"I have to be at the gym for 6pm. I have another client." Bitty knew he couldn't let Jack continue his question. If Jack asked him on some sort of date, Bitty would say yes. If he said yes, he would get hurt again in the end. 

"Oh? Okay. We should get you back then." Jack looked a little disappointed, but tried his best to hide it.

Their drive back to Bitty's apartment was strangely quiet. Though it was left unspoken, both men were aware that Bitty had turned down Jack's invitation to spend more time together that evening before he could even ask. Bitty paused with his hand on the door handle once they arrived. "Um, thanks again for the ride. Good work today."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you for that, Bittle." Jack smiled. "Are you sure I can't give you a ride to the gym? I don't mind waiting while you run up to grab your stuff."

"That's okay. Thanks anyway, but it's probably better if I walk. It's not far."

Jack looked a little deflated. "Okay then. See you again soon. Right?"

"Right. Have a good night, Jack." Bitty closed the car door behind him and hurried into his apartment building without looking back. 

"Hey, Bits. How was it today with Zimmermann?" Ransom asked from the other room when he heard him come home.

Everything hit him at once like a wave and Bitty suddenly choked back a sob as he spoke. "I kissed him!"

"Nice! Just now? I knew that you-- oh shit! Bro! What's wrong?!" Ransom rounded the corner excited to congratulate his roommate, but found Bitty crying instead.

"No... the night of the party. He-- he just told me today."

Ransom wrapped an arm around Bitty and led him to the couch. "Was he angry about it or something?" He didn't understand how a kiss could result in Bitty being this upset. Jack was clearly into him, and vice versa.

"No! He didn't want me to be embarrassed around everyone yesterday so he waited until we were alone today to tell me."

"...And?"

" _And_ I'm totally fucked!" Bitty cried. "He's so sweet, and handsome, and I don't know what to do!"

"So he wasn't upset?" Ransom asked for clarification.

"Of course not!" Bitty nuzzled his face into Ransom's shoulder, then realized how those words might sound. "I mean-- not like 'I'm so hot of course he's into me' but like in a 'Jack is too nice to do that' sort of way."

"I know what you meant, Bits. C'mere..." Ransom pulled him in for a full hug. "Listen... I didn't want to say this in front of everyone yesterday, but Zimmermann? Straight-up told me he was trying to flirt with you. If you think this is the case of some other jerk trying to get with you on the down-low, I can assure you it isn't like that. For one, he talked about you all night to _everyone_."

"Y'all told me that yesterday after he left..." Bitty reminded Ransom of the entire group's conversation the morning before.

"No, Bits. He talked to _everyone_. And stayed for breakfast **_with_** **_everyone_**. Hell, we live together and how many times did Fuckface Chad ever have a conversation with me? Or Holtzy? Maybe 10 times, combined. Never a meal. He wanted nothing to do with your friends, never wanted to go out with you in public... Zimmermann isn't like that. He really seems to be trying, you know? I think he really likes you."

"That just makes it worse..."

"How?"

"Because I like him too. So much. And... it's so _complicated_."

" _Bits_." Ransom almost laughed. "It can't get any more simple than that, actually. You like him, he likes you -- what's the problem? Just ask him out."

"I don't think I can."

"Why not?"

"Because he's currently _paying me_ to be his trainer. Because I'm afraid that workout sessions might slowly be replaced with makeout sessions and I don't want to be the reason the NHL's biggest star isn't in proper shape come October. Because even if he does like me now... that might not be enough when the cameras are back on him. I just... I don't think I can handle that."

"How are you so sure he'd ditch you once the season started up? You obviously know him better than I do, but he just doesn't seem like the type to me."

"He's always followed so closely by the media. To risk coming out for my sake... That's a lot to ask someone."

"Are you asking?"

"What do you mean?"

Ransom shrugged his shoulders, bouncing Bitty's head a little in the process. "I just mean, like, it seems like he's _offering_. Look. My guess is you haven't actually talked to him about any of this. Am I right?"

Bitty sighed. Ransom, as one of his oldest and dearest friends, definitely had his number there. "...Yeah, basically."

"So maybe you should do that before you go jumping to any conclusions. So what if Zimmermann isn't out yet? Maybe he _wants_ to be? The dude's like, what, Holtzy's age? Like 28 or so? He's not some unaccomplished rookie -- he's the league's top scorer and a grown-ass man. You shouldn't assume he's not ready, or unwilling to come out. Also, like, you're not marrying the dude? Just go on a few dates and see where it leads. Maybe you'll be bored of him by September."

Bitty scoffed at that. "Oh sure, I'm going to get bored with _Jack Zimmermann_ after a couple of months. You've seen him, right?" 

Both men laughed, and Ransom's chuckling eventually faded into a warm smile. He gave Bitty's shoulder another reassuring squeeze. "Yeah, and you know what I saw?"

"What?"

"I saw the way his face lit up every time you spoke. And I saw how much he made you laugh. Face it, Bits. Ask anyone at that party and they'd tell you the same thing -- you two are drawn to each other like moths to a flame."

"Ah, yes, because that scenario _famously_ ends so well for the moths..." Bitty teased.

Ransom chuckled. "Okay, bad example. But the sentiment remains the same. I don't know what exactly you and Zimmermann have? But it's not nothing. There's something real there and I think you owe it to yourself to explore that. You deserve it, Bits."

Bitty cuddled up closer to his friend. "Thanks, Rans. You always know just what to say."

"It's a gift." Ransom grinned. "Hey, Holtzy should be home soon from the store. What do you say we crack a bottle of wine early while he gets dinner started, and you can give me the deets on your day with Zimmermann?"

"Oh, you know I'd love to, honey. I'll have to take a rain check on that wine, though. I have a client scheduled for 6:30." Bitty stood from the couch and leaned down to give Ransom a proper hug.

"Making another move on my man, Bits?" Holster teased from the entrance to the living room. The other two men had not heard him come home.

Bitty laughed and finished his hug with Ransom. "Can you blame me?"

"Not at all. Look at him. Irresistible!" Holster approached them and planted a small kiss on the corner of Ransom's mouth. It was only then that he noticed the redness in Bitty's eyes. "Holy shit. Were you crying? What's wrong?"

Bitty shielded his face. "Oh no, is it really obvious?" He asked as he darted off to check in the bathroom mirror.

"Not _super_ obvious, but I've known you for like 6 years, Bitty. I recognize the signs. What happened?"

Bitty splashed some cold water on his face and patted it dry, scrutinizing his reflection to determine whether he could leave the apartment yet. "Oh Lord, you know how I get about things. I can't get into it all again now -- I have to head to work for a bit -- but your darling beau can fill you in. I should be home around 8:00."

Holster gave him a quick hug between Bitty's trip from the bathroom to his bedroom to change into a fresh trainer's shirt. "Don't eat after work, okay? I'm making like a _ton_ of fajitas." 

"Will do. Thanks." Bitty smiled when he emerged from his room, ready to go. "Alrighty then. I'll see you boys in a bit."

"We also have like a dozen of those cupcakes you baked with Dex leftover from the party!" Holster called after him down the hall.

"Shh!" Bitty laughed as he waited for the elevator, waving Holster off back into the apartment. 

Once the elevator doors closed behind him, Bitty leaned against the wall with a sigh. He appreciated Ransom's efforts to reassure him, but his feelings for Jack no doubt complicated things, possibly beyond what Bitty was willing to deal with right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note about the time of Bitty's next training session: it IS at 6:30, he told Jack 6:00 as an excuse to get home sooner. He has some things to work through.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is like a month late, but does it help if it's almost twice as long as the usual ones? Hopefully? Lol
> 
> Sorry if the formatting is a little off. I'll have to take another look at it in the morning.

 

Bitty arrived at the gym an hour early that Tuesday, nervous for his next session with Jack. The moment he walked in the door, he was met by April grinning widely at him. "Uh oh."

 

"Yeah, we need to discuss details of our exciting weekends." She ushered him into her office.

 

"Am I in trouble?" Bitty asked, more a reflex than an honest worry. April's scoff confirmed that he was safe. "So... how was your weekend?"

 

"March's mom got in a car accident -- a _minor_ accident -- but she ended up messing up a her arm a bit so we went over there to check in and help her get set up easier around the house."

 

"Oh no! That's awful!"

 

"She's fine. A little stiff but nothing is broken, thankfully. Sorry we couldn't make it to your party though. Heard it was a rager."

 

"It was... I think." Bitty chuckled. "It's all a bit fuzzy, to be honest."

 

"I bet." April grinned. "So... Are you going to tell me about the special guest, or what?"

 

"How did-- Holster. He told you, didn't he?"

 

"First chance he got. Well? Not every day you wake up to a handsome professional athlete in your bed. Care to elaborate on the situation?"

 

"Nothing happened," Bitty said, knowing that it was really a lie. "We were drunk, we just slept."

 

"How'd he end up there anyway?"

 

"Jack was helping me get ready for the party after I hurt myself. I sprained my wrist--"

 

"--Falling off the treadmill, I know. Like 5 people have told me about it." April finished for him with a chuckle. "And there was security footage."

 

"Oh Lord..."

 

"So there's really nothing going on between you and Zimmermann?"

 

Bitty scoffed. "I mean, we're friends, I suppose. But there's nothing wrong with that, right?"

 

"No, that's fine, as long as it doesn't interfere with training." April leaned back in her chair and sighed. "I have to be honest, part of me is disappointed."

 

Bitty blinked. "Disappointed?"

 

"I really thought there was something starting up between the two of you. Don't get me wrong, this makes things way less complicated, but... Oh well. Probably for the best."

 

"Um, just for the sake of clarification... It's not outright banned, right? Because back when I first started training him you were really, um, enthusiastic about the whole 'sparks flying' thing."

 

April laughed. "No, but relationships with clients definitely blur the lines. There are definitely some restrictions that would have to be put in place to ensure everything stays on the up and up. Your appointment today couldn't happen, for example."

 

"Um... today? What's wrong with that?"

 

"Well we couldn't exactly pay a trainer to go over to their boyfriend's house and assume they're sticking to the agreed upon workout plan."

 

Bitty was even more confused than before. "I'm not going to Jack's place tonight."

 

April frowned with confusion for a moment as well. "Fuck! I completely forgot to tell you. When Zimmermann came in yesterday we got to talking about off-site workouts like the ice rink, and he was interested in our in-home assessments."

 

"Oh. Uh..."

 

"Yeah, so you should actually be heading over there soon. Sorry I forgot to tell you before now."

 

Bitty sprung up from his chair. "Um. When? And where does he live? I have no idea."

 

"Didn't he text you his address?"

 

"Oh, um..." Bitty had indeed received a text from Jack the night before, but had not read it yet out of fear that it was personal in nature. Bitty checked it then, and sure enough is was a brief text about the situation and his address. "Oh! I wonder how I missed that!" Bitty lied.

 

"He lives pretty close by, luckily. You should probably head over there a little early though -- I think he said something about a doorman?"

 

"Oh Lord..." Bitty grimaced. "I forgot for a minute that Jack was famous and would live in the kind of place that had a doorman. Okay. I'll be leaving now, then."

 

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," April teased as he stood to leave.

 

"I'm going to pretend that I don't know what you mean by that." Bitty exited the office to the sound of April's laughter. 

 

He quickly gathered his things and looked up Jack's address on his phone. It was a quick walk from the gym -- too quick, for Bitty's sake. He needed more time to prepare for what might happen when he and Jack were completely alone -- no gym patrons, no chirpy friends, and no iceplex employees to keep either one of them from making a move this time.

 

Jack didn't seem like the type to have an ulterior motive, but if he happened to have one this time, Bitty knew he would have a hard time keeping things strictly professional. Against all better judgement, he just really wanted to kiss Jack -- and remember it this time. 

 

"Okay, Bittle. You can do this," Bitty hyped himself up outside the entrance of Jack's building. "This is your job and you're damn good at it. And Jack is serious about his career and hired you for a reason. Keep it professional. You've got this."

 

Bitty was still mumbling words of encouragement to himself as he passed through the large glass doors and came face to face with the doorman. "Hello there. Can I help you?" The doorman smiled, but there was something intimidating about the tone of his words.

 

"Oh, um... does Jack Zimmermann live here?"

 

The smile left the doorman's face now, and he raised a suspicious eyebrow. "What did you say your name was?"

 

Bitty's eyes went wide. "Oh! I didn't yet. I'm Eric Bittle." He extended his hand, but pulled it back when the doorman made no attempt to shake it. "I, uh... I'm Jack's trainer? From the gym? Spring Fitness just down a couple blocks from here. He didn't tell you I was coming by today, I gather?"

 

The doorman gave Bitty a quick once-over. "He did not. Do you have some kind of ID?"

 

"Oh, yes sir you bet I do." Bitty dug through his bag and pulled out his gym ID. "See? Spring Fitness." He gestured to the same words written on his shirt. 

 

"Wait here a minute," he handed Bitty back his work ID and made a phone call from his desk. "Hello there, Mr. Zimmermann! It's Arthur. Oh, very good today. And how are you?" The doorman laughed, much friendlier than he had been with Bitty only moments earlier. "You know I always enjoy our chats, but I'm actually calling to ask if you're expecting a guest right now."

 

Bitty smiled nervously when the doorman, Arthur, looked over at him. "I might be a little early..."

 

"No?" Arthur repeated when Jack answered. "Because I have a man here who claims to be your personal trainer? Says his name is Eric Bittle."

 

Bitty felt his cheeks heating up. What was going on? Did April get the message wrong? That couldn't be it -- Jack had texted Bitty about it too. 

 

Arthur looked at Bitty again as he asked Jack his next question. "Oh, you are? Can you describe him?" Halfway through whatever Jack was saying, Arthur's expression softened into a smile. "Okay, yes. That's him all right. I'll send him right up."

 

Bitty breathed a sigh of relief. "All clear?"

 

"Absolutely," Arthur said with a gesture to the elevators. "My apologies. We've had some trouble with fans and paparazzi in the past. Can't be too careful."

 

"Oh, don't you worry. I understand completely." Bitty smiled back.

 

"Eleventh floor. Mr. Zimmermann said he will be waiting for you there."

 

"Thank you." Bitty boarded the elevator and pressed the button for the eleventh floor. As the doors closed, he realized that he had not asked for Jack's unit number. His worry was brief though, as the doors opened to reveal Jack waiting for him in the hallway. "Oh thank goodness! I forgot to ask which door was you."

 

Jack chuckled. "Don't worry, Bittle. I've got your back."

 

"And that doorman definitely has yours. He was so scary until he confirmed I was telling the truth."

 

"Yeah, he can be a little gruff sometimes, but he's really nice. We watch a lot of the same documentaries, so I've brought my laptop down a couple times before when there's one on Netflix that I think he'd like to watch together."

 

Damn it. Just when Bitty thought Jack Zimmermann's nerdiness could not get anymore endearing, he was now picturing Jack bonding with his senior doorman over a marathon session of some dry Ken Burns documentary. It was so... _Jack_.

 

"What?" Jack asked with a grin when Bitty smiled and shook his head.

 

"Nothing to worry your pretty little head about, Mr. Zimmermann. Just... that sounds like exactly something you would do."

 

"Oh? You think you know me that well, Bittle?" Jack led him a short walk down the hall to his condo. 

 

" _Sometimes_. You're pretty easy to read sometimes."

 

"Can you read me right now?" Jack asked as he opened his door and let Bitty walk in ahead of him.

 

Bitty turned around when Jack closed the door behind them. He was smiling, but his pale blue eyes seemed to be searching for something in Bitty's reaction. "...No," Bitty admitted. "I can't."

 

"Bittle, I--" Whatever Jack was about to say was interrupted by the buzzing of a kitchen timer. "Shit!" Jack darted off to remove a cookie sheet full of chicken breasts from the oven.

 

Bitty followed him to the kitchen, surprised that Jack had been cooking something. "Can I help?"

 

"It's okay. I just have to flip these I think. I'm doing some meal prep for the week." He grabbed a fork from the drawer and began flipping each chicken breast carefully. "Sorry, I thought you weren't coming for another half hour... if at all. I didn't hear back from you last night."

 

"Yeah, about that... Jack? Can--" Bitty was distracted as soon as he approached Jack and got a closer look at the chicken. "Did you season those at all?"

 

"I used some olive oil." Jack shrugged.

 

"What dishes will you be using these in?"

 

"On a plate with vegetables?" Jack chuckled at the adorably shocked expression on Bitty's face. "You really want to add something to them, don't you?"

 

" _Desperately_."

 

Jack stepped back from the stove and opened a nearby cupboard. "I don't have much, but knock yourself out. I've tasted your cooking, I trust you."

 

"And to think I was about to apologize for showing up so early. You're lucky I came just in time to save your poor tastebuds from a hopelessly bland meal. Or should I say _meals_."

 

"Very lucky." Jack leaned back against the counter and watched as Bitty immediately made himself comfortable in his kitchen, washing his hands before sprinkling an assortment of seasonings on the chicken breasts. Bitty picked up one large container in particular and turned to Jack with an incredulous look. "What?" Jack laughed, feigning innocence.

 

"Montréal steak spice?" Bitty grinned and gave the container a light shake. "Jack. This is _huge_."

 

"It's good!"

 

"Pfft!" Bitty turned back around with a shake of his head. 

 

"It tastes like home," Jack added, causing Bitty to chuckle. He smiled. "You know? When I was a little kid, I thought that every city had it's own special spice? We rented a house in Florida one summer and when I went grocery shopping with my mom I kept looking for the 'Orlando steak spice.' Turns out, that's not a real thing."

 

"Well I'm as surprised as you are, sweetheart." Bitty finished up with his mystery combination of seasoning.

 

"It makes sense, right?"

 

"It's darling, Jack." Bitty teased.

 

Jack peeked over Bitty's shoulder as he put the chicken back in the oven. "Looks really good, Bittle. Maybe I should hire you for a couple cooking lessons."

 

"Oh, please. Being on your payroll in one way complicates things enough. We don't need to go adding another." Bitty turned around after closing the oven and was startled by how close Jack was standing. "Oh!"

 

"Sorry! I was just chicking out the checken." Jack hopped back to give Bitty some space. "Or, uh, 'checking out the chicken' even."

 

Bitty burst out laughing, happy to have a distraction from what could have turned into a repeat of the flirty atmosphere when Jack had helped out in Bitty's kitchen before the party. "Okay, Mr. Zimmermann. Let's get down to business. Why don't you take me through your typical work outs here at home?"

 

"Right. Um, follow me." Jack led Bitty to a spare bedroom that had been turned into a home gym. "So, here are my weights, and my bench. Jump rope. Bike. Typical stuff. My mom told me I should try yoga, so I bought one of those mats but I still haven't used it, so that's it over there." Jack pointed to the navy blue mat rolled up against the wall with a shrug.

 

"Oh? Well there's something we can start working on."

 

"You're gonna teach me yoga?"

 

Bitty laughed. "Well, I'm no instructor, but I can set you up with a good DVD for beginners. Also one of the owners of the gym, March, teaches a few yoga classes each week."

 

"Do I have to wear yoga pants? I don't know what size would even fit me."

 

"Oh, honey, no. I'd stick to sweats if I were you. I don't think the world is ready to see you and your _glorious-maximus_ in yoga pants. Lord!"

 

Jack snickered. "I don't think I've heard of that muscle before, but you're the trainer."

 

"To be honest, Shitty coined that term. Not even after meeting you the other day, he did that like... two years ago? Whenever you did that health magazine thing?"

 

"Oh? Haha." Jack fidgeted awkwardly. "And Shitty is... straight?"

 

"-Ish," Bitty added with a laugh. "He's one of those overly-invested allies who nobody would be surprised to see come out of some kind of closet down the road. Not gay though, we know that for sure. He's been in love with Lardo since before I even met him."

 

"Cute."

 

Bitty was suddenly hyper-aware of how close they were standing in the small room and took a step to the side. "So! Is this everything?"

 

"I have a treadmill and a mat in the living room too. I prefer to go for runs outside in the morning, but if the weather is really bad I'll stay in and catch up on some shows instead. There's more room for push ups and things out there too -- this room gets a little crowded."

 

"Let's head out there, then. I don't think you need any pointers from me when it comes to lifting weights."

 

Jack showed Bitty to the living room as asked. "That's the grand tour, basically. There's not much else to see besides my bedroom. Uh, but, that's... That's not really..."

 

"Not necessary for a training session."

 

"Yeah, exactly." 

 

"Hey, so, Bittle--"

 

"Let's get started!" Bitty announced cheerfully. "We'll begin with some stretches, then move on to some more advanced calisthenics. How do you feel about V sit-ups?"

 

"Not bad."

 

Bitty should have guessed as much. He'd seen Jack's ridiculous set of abs before. "Good. Pistol squats?"

 

"I don't like them, but I can do them." 

 

"Duck walks?"

 

Jack hesitated. "...Complicated."

 

Bitty was surprised by that. "You think so?"

 

"Not the exercise itself, more like... my relationship with them?" Jack chuckled.

 

Bitty laughed with a nod of his head. "Fair enough. Flying superman push-ups?"

 

"Flying ones? I... don't think I know what that is."

 

"Ugh. They're dreadful, but you'll probably like them. They're better to do at home than at the gym where you can embarrass yourself," Bitty explained and played a short clip on his phone. Jack looked hesitant. "We'll work up to those."

 

Jack sighed with relief. "Okay, good."

 

"It's nice to break up the routine with some new exercises now and then. I assume that's part of the reason you wanted a personal trainer in the first place."

 

Jack nodded. "Yeah. The same old workouts just weren't doing it for me anymore. I like working out, but things were getting kinda..." Jack trailed off as he tried to think of the right word.

 

"Stale?" Bitty suggested.

 

"Oh! I was gonna say 'boring' but I like that one better." They both smiled. "I'm just... in a different place in my life now. I'm ready for a change."

 

"Well, I'm sure I can shake things up for you. Don't you worry about that, Mr. Zimmermann."

 

"You already have, Bittle."

 

Bitty looked away to hide his blush. He cleared his throat. "Of course, there is something to be said about keeping things the way they are. 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' and all that. Let's start with some of the classics."

 

Jack got down on the mat as told and Bitty led him through a few stretches to warm up. Jack started chirping when he began his push ups. "You know, I usually do these with a weight on my back. Sure you don't want to take a seat, Bittle?"

 

"I'm heavier than I look, I assure you."

 

"125?"

 

"145, thank you very much."

 

"You weigh less than my last girlfriend, although she was taller than you by about a foot."

 

"Impossible."

 

"Well, half a foot maybe."

 

"Less chirping more exercising, Mr. Zimmermann." Bitty tapped Jack's forearm lightly with his foot.

 

"Push ups are too easy this way. Come on, Bittle. You should know by now that I like a challenge."

 

"Oh, you've made that _abundantly_ clear," Bitty replied, causing Jack to give a small chuckle. "We're working up to the challenging parts. Next up, classic sit ups."

 

"Are you going to sit on my feet so that I can't lift them off the floor as I go?"

 

Bitty laughed. "Like in elementary school? Yes. Yes I will." He knelt down on Jack's shoes and absent-mindedly put his hands on Jack's knees before quickly pulling them away. "Oops, sorry."

 

"It's fine, Bittle. Really."

 

"This isn't hurting you?"

 

"Not at all," Jack replied with a smile.

 

"Okay, let's begin." It didn't take Bitty long to realize he had made a big mistake. Each time Jack sat up, it got harder for Bitty to ignore his close their faces were. He leaned a little further back at first to put some distance between them, but drifted forward again without realizing it. 

 

Jack had the same intensity in his eyes that he usually got while working out, but he smiled every time he approached Bitty. It threw Bitty off to see those focussed eyes with such a soft smile. Damn it! That smile always sucked him in. Bitty stared down at Jack's shins for lack of a better place to look. 

 

The 18th sit up was when it happened. Bitty lifted his head when Jack sat up, and they both froze. "Jack, I..."

 

"Yeah." Jack leaned forward and finally closed the distance between their lips. 

 

It wasn't actually their first kiss, or even their second, but it was the first that Bitty was sober enough to remember. He let his eyelids slide shut and melted into the moment. Jack's hand touched his shoulder and Bitty slipped his hand around to the back of Jack's neck. His hair was slightly damp with sweat, and that snapped Bitty back into the reality that he was there to train Jack, not kiss him. He pushed away, leaving Jack dumbstruck.

 

"I can't do this!" Bitty scrambled back. 

 

"I don't understand... If I misread something, I'm so sorr--"

 

Bitty hurried closer again and put a hand on Jack's knee to reassure him, then immediately pulled it back, unsure of what was the best move in this scenario. "Jack, no. You haven't misread a thing. I really like you, and I want--" Bitty's voice cracked and he felt tears stinging his eyes. "Fuck!"

 

"Bittle?"

 

"If things were _different_  -- if I wasn't being paid to be your trainer. If I hadn't already been burned once before by some closeted guy wanting to keep me his dirty little secret. If you wouldn't have to _risk_ your career just to be with me, then maybe--"

 

"Bittle, hey. Bud. Come here..." Jack reached out his hand, but stopped short of touching Bitty. "Please?"

 

Bitty wiped his eyes, embarrassed that he fell apart in front of one of his clients. "So unprofessional..." He scolded himself quietly, but inched a little closer to Jack.

 

"I'm sorry that your ex treated you badly, but I promise you, I would never hide you like some dirty secret. Never."

 

"It's not like you could _date_ me..."

 

"Why not?" 

 

The sincerity of Jack's question caught Bitty off-guard. "Be-because you're famous! You're Jack Zimmermann of the Providence Falconers! You can't just come out like nothing because of **_me!_** "

 

Jack frowned with confusion. "I'm _already_ out, Bittle."

 

Bitty choked out a laugh before he realized Jack was being serious. "Oh. Um... I meant like, _publicly_ out."

 

"Yeah. Me too," Jack insisted.

 

Bitty stared at him, momentarily forgetting how upset he was. "You're not, I assure you. I would remember if _you_ of all people came out. Kent Parson is the only NHL player I know of who--"

 

"Yeah, Kenny was first, but I came out about a month later."

 

"Um, wait. What?" Bitty was hit with a wave of realization. "The 'Kenny' from the text that I saw... is _Kent Parson?_ "

 

"Yeah. We were friends back in juniors, and then we were, uh, a _little_ more than that, and then we weren't... but now we're friends again." Jack smiled. 

 

"One thing at a time, Bittle." Bitty whispered to himself before turning back to Jack. "And the advice you were asking him for was about..."

 

" _You_. Because I really like you, but I tried asking you on a date and you didn't seem interested. Then you kissed me and I felt bad that you didn't _remember_ kissing me."

 

Bitty stared for a minute as he processed the new information. "So... Kent Parson, the second-best player in the NHL also knows I'm a sloppy drunk. Cool. Cool cool cool."

 

"Who's the best?"

 

" _You_ , obviously."

 

Jack chuckled. "Wow, he would hate hearing that." He inched a little closer and gently took Bitty's hand, rubbing his thumb over Bitty's knuckles. "But enough about Parse."

 

"When did you come out? And how? My friends and I had a whole conversation about this the other day, and none of us had any idea that you were out, or even... _gay?_ " Bitty guessed.

 

"Bi."

 

"Oh, right. Cool. Okay So that's one question down. _But?_ "

 

"Hang on. Where's my phone?" Jack hopped to his feet and searched out his phone in the kitchen. He started typing away with a concentrated frown on his face. "Ugh. Passwords..." Jack mumbled to himself.

 

"Jack?" Bitty stood up from the floor but stayed in the same spot.

 

Jack's frown softened and he typed something else before finally sighing with relief. "There. Done."

 

"What's done?" Bitty asked.

 

Jack brought his phone over to show Bitty. "Here."

 

On the screen was Jack Zimmermann's official Twitter feed, with a grand total of 6 tweets on it.

 

\------

**Jack Laurent Zimmermann**

@jlz_1 

I play hockey for @PVD_Falcs

Joined October 2011

**14** Following  **113K** Followers

 

Hi Twitter.

3:23 PM 14 OCT 2011

 

Good game tonight.

10:47 PM 23 OCT 2011

 

Good practice.

1:50 PM 17 JAN 2012

 

Good practice.

1:33 PM 11 APR 2015

 

Jack Laurent Zimmermann retweeted

  Alicia Zimmermann @real_ali_zimm

  Happy 60th birthday to my beautiful husband! You bring me joy every single day. The sweetest "bad" boy I ever met <3

  9:54 AM 15 JAN 2017

 

Everyone knows I'm bi right?

7:02 PM 25 JUN 2019

\------

 

"Jack!" Bitty guffawed.

 

"What?"

 

"You can't just-- that-- coming out like _that_ is-- you--" Bitty sputtered out. 

 

"I already came out, Bittle. It's fine." Jack chuckled at how flustered Bitty was getting. "Wait here, I think I saved the article." He walked to his bedroom and returned 2 minutes later. "It's kinda embarrassing to save this magazine, but I was really proud of myself."

 

The interview with Jack in "Hockey! Magazine" was four pages long. It covered his childhood with his famous parents, the overdose that delayed him getting drafted into the NHL for a year, and winning his first Stanley Cup. The last page mostly covered the recent coming out of Jack's childhood friend Kent Parson, and Jack's subsequent involvement with You Can Play. Bitty skimmed the article for any key words, but all references to being queer were in reference to those last two points.

 

"Um... So, where...?"

 

"Right here." Jack pointed to the third-from-last paragraph. 

 

\------

"I'm honoured to partner up with You Can Play for their new campaign. It means a lot to me," Jack begins before pausing to take a sip of his water. "Because for me, it's like hockey -- just because someone usually shoots right, it doesn't mean they can't also shoot left. Sometimes I like shooting left. I've had some really great experiences shooting left. I think the world is a better place when people feel they can be honest about who they are and what makes them happy."

\------

 

Bitty stared at the page. "Oh, _sweetheart_... I... I don't know if your metaphor came across as well as you intended it to."

 

"Really?" Jack looked disappointed.

 

"But it was a really _lovely_ sentiment! Truly, Jack. It was sweet. I think that makes the world a better place, too." Bitty smiled and touched Jack's arm with his free hand, not wanting to drop the magazine he was still holding.

 

Jack smiled. "Yeah?"

 

"Yeah." Bitty gave him a hug.

 

"So, Bittle? Can I take you on a date?" Jack exhaled softly and returned Bitty's hug.

 

"I would really like that, but..." Bitty sighed and took a step back. "This still doesn't change the fact that you've hired me to train you and I can't do that if we're stealing kisses after every sit up."

 

"I beg to differ, but--" Jack chuckled then returned to being serious. "Okay. I understand."

 

"You do?"

 

"I really like you, but I also think you do a good job and are helping me a lot. So if we have to wait until my gym membership is up in September, then I'll wait. As long as it takes."

 

Bitty felt like all the wind had been knocked out of him. Jack was _this_ serious? About **_him?_** And he valued Bitty's input that much that he would rather keep things professional instead of breaking his contract or replacing Bitty with another trainer. "You think that much of me?"

 

"Bittle, I think _everything_ of you."

 

"Well..." Bitty stepped forward and hugged Jack again. "I think the world of you too, Mr. Zimmermann."

 

"We're still allowed to be friends though, right?"

 

"Absolutely."

 

"Can one friend treat another friend to a friendly dinner after this?"

 

Bitty chuckled against Jack's shoulder. "You _can..._ but I'm not sure you'll still **_want_** to when I'm finished running you through today's workout. Maybe hold off asking me for an hour if you're not too tired."

 

"Tough, but fair."

 

"Don't you forget it." Bitty pointedly poked Jack in the chest as he stepped away. "Back on the mat, Mr. Zimmermann."

 

Jack snickered. "Yes sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter accounts that Jack follows: his mom & dad (who are both way better at Twitter than he is), the falcs, the NHL, Team Canada, Kent Parson, the QMJHL, half a dozen teammates, and Ken Burns.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be 9 chapters now instead of 8. The last part was running too long so I decided to split it up.

**September 2019**

 

Bitty was training back-to-back clients on Jack's last day at Spring Fitness. They had a few minutes to chat when Jack first arrived, but before Bitty knew it, Jack was showered and dressed in his regular clothes, talking to April at the front desk.

 

Bitty tried his best to listen without getting too distracted from the leg presses his current client was doing. 

 

"Well, it's been great meeting you, Jack. We'll miss seeing you around the gym," April said with a smile. 

 

"Yeah, it's been really great. If my season wasn't so crazy, I'd definitely stick around longer. Most of our workouts in-season are with the team, but I'll come back next summer -- if you'll have me."

 

"Of course!" April laughed. "We do have drop-in fees for prior clients if you have a day free sometime and want to stop by for one of March's yoga classes or something."

 

Jack chuckled. "Yeah I might need to do that. I liked it more than I expected to. I'm glad Bittle forced me to finally try it."

 

"I bet. Bitty wouldn't steer you wrong."

 

"No, he wouldn't."

 

Bitty felt his cheeks burn and turned towards the desk to find Jack and April smiling in his direction. He waved shyly and turned back to his client with a nervous laugh. "Great job, Julie! How's that feeling? Can you give me two more?"

 

"Okay," Julie managed two more reps before stopping with a relieved sigh. "Phew!"

 

"Let's get you doing some leg curls and then I think we can call it a night. Sound good?"

 

"Great!"

 

Bitty laughed. "You're doing really well, I can tell you've been keeping up with the 'homework' I gave you."

 

"I have, thank you!" Julie smiled at the praise."

 

Bitty turned back towards the front desk as Julie wiped down her machine, but Jack was gone. He was a little sad, but it wasn't like that was the last they would ever see of one another. They texted daily, and had spent the entire day together on Jack's birthday -- as friends, of course. 

 

Bitty showered and changed out of his gym uniform after a quickie workout of his own. He said a brief goodbye to April on his way out the door, happy to be done for the day.

 

"So, how 'bout that date?"

 

"What the _ffffff_ -oh!" Bitty jumped when he hear the unexpected, albeit familiar, voice. " **Jack!** You nearly gave me a heart attack!" He swatted Jack half a dozen times in mock-anger.

 

Jack laughed and finally caught Bitty by the wrists, stopping his playful attack. "Well?"

 

"You better believe you're taking me on a date. You own me dinner _at least_ for that scare!"

 

"At _least?_ " Jack asked with a mischevious grin.

 

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Mr. Zimmermann. I _clearly_ meant dessert."

 

"So did I!" Jack snickered when Bitty began swatting at him. "Ow! Pie! I meant pie!"

 

"So I have to _make_ the dessert you owe me?"

 

"Oh, well, you don't _have_ to... but I won't get another cheat meal for a while, and you did promise to make me that maple apple pie if I hit my fitness goals."

 

"Very true."

 

"And I'm down 16.5lbs, so that's like 1.5lbs of pie beyond my goal."

 

"I _know_ you know that's not how it works."

 

Jack then looked at his watch. "Oh! So I made a reservation for 8:00, do you want to drop your gym bag at home first?"

 

Despite knowing Jack as well as he did by then, it still took Bitty a moment to realize he was serious. He looked him up and down, feeling suddenly very under-dressed in his shorts and t-shirt. Jack was looking dapper in a dark blazer and a tie that brought out the incredible blue of his eyes -- a far cry from the sweatpants and Falconers t-shirts Bitty was accustomed to seeing him wear. "I..."

 

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

 

Bitty gave his head a small shake. "I-- yes. I need to stop at home first. I can't wear this out for a dinner date." He gestured to his extremely casual outfit.

 

"I think you look great," Jack quickly reassured him.

 

"Are you chirping me or charming me?" Bitty asked with a grin as they walked through the parking lot to Jack's car.

 

"Maybe a little of both."

 

"Well, you got to run home and change into a proper outfit, it's only fair for you to extend to me the same courtesy."

 

"Who says I changed?"

 

"Please. That is not what you were wearing when you left here an hour ago."

 

Jack grinned. "You noticed what I was wearing?"

 

"Yes, I _always_ notice and no, you may _not_ ask any follow-up questions."

 

"Haha."

 

When they arrived at Bitty's apartment block, he sprinted up the stairwell, not wanting to waste precious time waiting on their notoriously slow elevator. It was already 7:40pm, which left Bitty approximately 10 minutes to make himself look flawless, while still allowing time to drive to the restaurant. Where were they even going? Maybe he should have asked Jack about that before practically tuck-and-rolling from his car.

 

He burst through the door to his apartment, gasping for breath and scaring the hell out of his roommates. "Bits! What's wrong???" Ransom rushed over to him.

 

"Nothing! Stairs! So many. Stairs!" Bitty said between gulps of air. 

 

Fears subsiding, Holster joined in with a laugh. "Why didn't you take the elevator?"

 

"Can't. Wait."

 

"Why are you so out of breath? Don't you work out for like, a living?" Ransom teased.

 

"Yeah. Do you even lift, bro?"

 

Bitty waved them off, then gave them both the finger. "I hate you guys. _So_ much right now." He squeezed past and hurried to his room to get ready as his best friends laughed.

 

Before either Ransom or Holster could ask, the reason Bitty was in a rush came knocking on the door. "Oh. Hey. Bittle forgot his gym bag in my car."

 

Ransom nudged his boyfriend -- who was grinning like a fool -- to the side and invited Jack in. "Thanks, man. Come on in. Bitty's just... getting ready? I assume?"

 

"Maybe I should have made the reservation for a little later. It's okay if we're a little late though. The restaurant said they won't give away the reservation until we're at least 20 minutes late."

 

Bitty breezed out of his room with a blazer slung over his arm, and spotted Jack as he headed to the bathroom to tie his tie. "How did you get up here so _fast?_ " Bitty groaned.

 

"Elevator?"

 

"Of course the one time I don't try it..." Bitty grumbled. He tried smoothing out his cowlick to no avail, embarrassed to be seen still disheveled from rushing. "I thought you were just going to wait in your car."

 

"I was, but you forgot your gym bag." Jack held it up for him to see. 

 

"Oh, for--" Bitty huffed at himself and took the bag from Jack. "Thank you, Jack. My mind is all over the place today."

 

"No worries."

 

Bitty smiled shyly. "Okay, well, um... Please make  yourself comfortable. I just need a few minutes to finish getting ready."

 

"Okay."

 

Ransom waited until the bathroom door closed behind Bitty before turning to Jack. "You look nice."

 

"Oh? Uh, thanks. My mom bought me this tie."

 

"HA--" Holster guffawed before clapping a hand over his mouth and faking a cough. He cleared his throat. "So, Zimmermann. How're you liking the gym? Bitty still putting you through the paces, or..."

 

"It was my last day today."

 

" _Ohhh_ ," Ransom and Holster replied in unison.

 

"Yeah, the team had their first practice yesterday." Jack chuckled. "The boys were all chirping me about slimming down -- I'm close to my rookie weight, and definitely faster now."

 

"Yeah, Bitty doesn't mess around with his workouts. Something about his old figure skating coach and Soviet calisthenics? He's really--"

 

"--Impressive," Jack finished, assuming he knew the only way that sentence could end. Jack was certainly very impressed by all things Bitty.

 

Holster laughed. It had been obvious from the start just how smitten Jack was with Bitty, but it was reassuring to see that the appreciation went beyond his "little brother's" looks. "Yeah."

 

"Have you ever seen a photo of his old bedroom back in Georgia? It's _filled_ with trophies. That's so cool. To be so good at figure skating? And _then_ switch to hockey and be so good at that? Wow. Isn't that really neat? Impressive, eh?"

 

"Yeah totally. You know what else Bitty is?" Ransom asked with a grin.

 

"What?"

 

"Standing right behind you, bro."

 

Jack turned around and sure enough, there was Bitty. His face was a little red and he averted his eyes when Jack looked at him, but he was smiling despite his embarrassment. "Wow."

 

"Oh, hush with your 'wows.' You're not the only one who can clean up nice, Mr. Zimmermann."

 

"I think you outdid me, Bittle."

 

"Oh, please. I didn't even have time to tame this damned cowlick of mine." Bitty self-consciously fussed with his hair.

 

"I like your cowlick."

 

Bitty stopped fidgetting, and cleared his throat. "Uh, well. We should be on our way."

 

"Yeah, don't want to be late for the restaurant. I mean, we _can_ be late -- I was just telling the boys here that we don't have to worry about losing the reservation until after we're 20 minutes late -- but I know you don't want to run late if we don't have to."

 

Bitty laughed. "Right, so... shall we?" He asked with a nod towards the door, purposely ignoring the silly excited faces his roommates were making while Jack's back was turned to them.

 

"Yeah."

 

Bitty stepped forward and touched Jack's arm lightly to guide him to the door. They were almost free when Holster called Bitty back for a moment. Jack continued on his way towards the elevator while Bitty ducked his head back inside his apartment. "Oh my god, what?"

 

"What time do you think you'll be home?"

 

Bitty sighed, flustered. "I don't know. Maybe 11:00?"

 

"Wow, 11:00 tomorrow morning? Check out the wheels on Bits!"

 

"Bet you're gonna need to sleep in after staying up so late tonight."

 

"Gonna be taking Zimmermann through a whole new kinda workout, eh?"

 

"He's talking about sex. You're gonna bang Jack Zimmermann tonight."

 

Bitty's eyes went wide and he gave Holster a light shove. "You boys watch your mouths. I am a _gentleman_ , and this is a _first_ date."

 

"Technically, sure. But come on. You've gone out like a dozen times already. This is just the first time you're gonna be allowed to finally--"

 

"Ah-ah! Nope! You do not get to finish that sentence, Justin Oluransi. I will see you both later _tonight_." Bitty darted off and joined Jack just as the elevator arrived. 

 

"Goodnight, Bits!"

 

"Don't do anything we wouldn't do!" Holster called out down the hall. 

 

Bitty gave them the finger before the elevator doors closed, shutting out the sound of his roommates' boisterous laughter. He glanced up at Jack as they rode the elevator down. "Sorry about that. They're just... idiots." He laughed. "Lord knows I love them, but those boys..."

 

"They're funny."

 

"Yeah, that's one word for them. I still prefer 'idiots' but..." Bitty shrugged with a grin. "I hope they were better behaved with you while I was getting ready."

 

"Yeah. They're good guys."

 

"Yeah." The elevator opened into the lobby and both men hesitated to step out, trying to invite the other to exit first. "Jack Laurent Zimmermann, you are a guest in my building and I insist."

 

"My bad, Bittle." Jack laughed and stepped out first, only to hurry ahead to open the lobby door for Bitty.

 

Bitty, in turn, held the exterior door open for Jack and they both ended up laughing again. When Jack opened the passenger door for him, Bitty finally spoke up. "This is going to be a battle of manners all night, isn't it?"

 

"Well, I have to make a good impression on our first date, right?"

 

"I'm already _plenty_ impressed by you, Mr. Zimmermann."

 

"The feeling is mutual."

 

"Charmer," Bitty said before ducking into Jack's car.

 

The mood was light and comfortable until about halfway through their dinner. Jack had made a silly joke, and when Bitty opened his eyes after laughing, he saw Jack staring at him with a smile on his face.

 

"What?" Bitty asked as he self-consciously wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Do I have something on my face? Is it still there?"

 

"No, I was just thinking that I really want to kiss you right now."

 

"Oh." Bitty blushed.

 

"Sorry, was that too forward?"

 

"No, no, it's alright. I..." Bitty glanced around the room. "It's so stupid," he started, then noticed the shock on Jack's face. "Oh! No, not this. Just-- We've spent so much time together, it's stupid of me to feel so _nervous_ all of a sudden."

 

"Sorry."

 

"Jack, honey. _No_. You don't need to apologize for anything. I'm just being silly."

 

"I shouldn't have said anything. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

 

"Jack. It isn't about you. At least, not _specifically_. It's been a while since I've been on a date at all, and..." Bitty sighed. "You're just so sweet, and honest, and... It's a little scary."

 

"Scary?" Jack looked horrified. "Bittle, if I--"

 

"Oh lord, I'm just sabotaging myself, aren't I? _You're_ not scary, Jack. At all. What I'm afraid of is..." Bitty squeezed his eyes shut, realizing that what he was saying was causing exactly what he was afraid of. "A first date means that there will eventually be a _last_ date, and I'm afraid of what will happen between now and then. If I let myself fall for you... I don't know how I'll be able to pick myself up again when it all ends."

 

"Who says it has to end?"

 

"Jack, I'm just trying to be realistic. And _eventually_ \--"

 

"I don't plan to have any 'last date.' Do you?"

 

"Well, no, but in my experience, guys tend to lose interest once they really get to know me." Bitty looked down at his plate.

 

"I find that hard to believe," Jack replied.

 

"Well, unfortunately for me, it's all very true."

 

"Their loss," jack said with a soft smile. "I think you're incredible."

 

Bitty sighed, defeated once again by Jack's charming smile. "You're not so bad yourself, Mr. Zimmermann." He grinned and took another bite of his food.

 

"Are you enjoying your dinner? This is where I wanted to take you that first time we went to the iceplex. I was trying to ask you on a date then, but you insisted on going to that pita place to use your coupon."

 

"I never ended up using that darn coupon, you know? I think it's still in my wallet."

 

"Maybe we should try it again for our second date."

 

Bitty chuckled at that. "Are you so sure you want a second date? We're not even finished our first one, and I just had a minor emotional meltdown."

 

"Of course I want a second date. And a third. I love you."

 

Bitty nearly dropped his fork, but he fidgeted with it beside his plate instead. "You... Jack, this is our _first_ date. You can't possibly mean that-- that you **_love_** me."

 

"But it's true. I think probably from the first time I saw you. Or, the first time we talked, at least. You're just... _something_."

 

"Pfft! I don't know if that's really--"

 

"Something I never want to lose." Jack said with too much sincerity for Bitty to bear.

 

" _Jack_ \--" Bitty said in a pleading tone.

 

"It's okay if you don't feel the same way. I know it's early. I just-- I want you to know I'm in this. You can take as much time as you need. I'll wait as long as it takes."

 

"Don't you think I've made you wait long enough already?"

 

"No. Not if you aren't ready."

 

"Oh, Lord!" Bitty covered his face with both hands.

 

"You keep worrying that I'm going to... I don't even know. Get bored? With you? Bittle, that's nonsense. You're _Eric Bittle._ I'll never not find you interesting. You're so great."

 

Bitty sighed into his hands and slowly pulled them away from his face, glancing around quickly, nervous that other people in the restaurant could hear their conversation. "Maybe we should go. I don't think... I don't think this is the place to have this conversation."

 

" _Oh_. Yeah. I'll, uh, get the cheque."

 

"I'll be right back," Bitty excused himself and went to the washroom. Thankfully nobody else was there. He splashed a bit of cold water on his face and fussed with his hair to buy himself some time to think.

 

Jack _loved_ him? Did he really just say that? If Bitty had learned nothing else about Jack Zimmermann over the past few months, he at least knew that Jack was not one to lie. But love? Him? Bitty was having trouble grasping that concept. 

 

Sure they had become very close, especially recently, and there was no doubt that there was some attraction there. Okay. _A lot_ of attraction between them. But for Jack to say he loves him so easily... Bitty was afraid he would never be able to open up like that. To just say what's on his mind, or in his heart? That was what actually frightened him. That he might tell Jack just how he felt, and get rejected.

 

But Jack already said he loved him, so what was Bitty still so afraid of?

 

When Bitty returned to the table, Jack stood up. "I paid already, so... we can get out of here if you want."

 

"Okay," Bitty said quietly. They walked wirelessly to Jack's car, until Jack stopped so suddenly that Bitty nearly stumbled into him. "Jack?"

 

"Can I drive you home, at least?"

 

The question caught Bitty off-guard, seeing as they were clearly already walking to Jack's car together. "I-- yes?"

 

"Okay. Good." Jack unlocked the passenger door first and Bitty climbed in, leaning across the centre console to unlock Jack's door for him. "Thanks Bittle," he said softly.

 

"Jack?" Bitty asked as they drove in silence.

 

"I'm really sorry, Bittle. I came on too strong, and scared you off. I shouldn't have said all that back at the restaurant. It was too much."

 

What Jack was really trying to say suddenly hit Bitty with the force of a truck. "You-- you _didn't_ scare me off!"

 

"It's okay. I don't want you feel like you have to spare my feelings. I've been pushing you from the start, even when you've tried letting me down easily."

 

Oh no. This night was going the exact opposite either one of them had wanted. "I'm a **_liar!_** " Bitty finally let the words burst out of him. "I'm a huge liar, Jack. And you're so... Dammit! You're so honest and I don't know how to handle that. I've never dated anyone who didn't lie--  _to_ me, _about_ me, about _themselves_..."

 

"Bittle?" Jack pulled over and stopped the car when Bitty started to cry. "Are you--"

 

" ** _I'm_** sorry, Jack. I'm the one that should apologize for everything." Bitty wiped his eyes and groaned with frustration that he was crying in front of Jack yet again. "I said I was afraid of what would happen if I let myself fall for you, but that was a lie. Because I fell you _ages_ ago. And it's been _so_ hard trying to keep my distance, because I've never wanted something so badly in my entire life, but I _want_ this-- well, not **_THIS_** , exactly..." He wiped his eyes again. "Lord, why am I so bad at this?"

 

"It's okay. Just take your time. Let it out."

 

"Stop being so nice, or I'll never stop crying!" Bitty shouted in frustration, but ended up laughing at the absurdity of that demand. Jack touched his hand, and when Bitty looked down he realized that Jack was actually handing him a Kleenex, which only made him laugh more. "What did I _just_ say, Mr. Zimmermann?"

 

Jack chuckled and waited for Bitty to finish wiping his eyes before holding his hand for real. "My bad, Bittle."

 

Bitty squeezed Jack's hand as he finally regained his composure. "I'm sorry I'm such a mess. It's not too late to back out, you know? I'll totally understand." He was joking, but inside a part of him still worried that Jack would change his mind.

 

"What did I tell you before, Bittle? I'd wait for as long as you need. I think a five-minute cathartic cry is covered in that."

 

"Hah!" Bitty took a deep breath and exhaled.

 

"How're you doing now, bud? Must have been hard holding in all those feeling like that."

 

"How are you so good at this?"

 

Jack chuckled. "At what?"

 

"Talking about things. I have been a _horrendous_ date tonight, and here you are being so understanding and asking about my _feelings?_ What distant planet are you from, Jack Zimmermann?"

 

"Oh." Jack chuckled again. "Planet 'Therapy' I guess?" Bitty looked embarrassed, so Jack gave his hand a small squeeze again. "It's okay. I'm not ashamed to talk about it anymore. I don't know how much you've heard about my past... but I used to be really bad about talking about how I felt... about _anything_ , really. Everything. It was really hard. I don't want to feel like that again, and I don't want anyone I care about to feel like that if I can help it."

 

"I'm still so embarrassed."

 

"You don't have to be. Nothing wrong with a good cry, now and then."

 

"I could have had better timing than our first real date. I think the rules usually discourage emotional breakdowns until at least the _third_ date."

 

"I've never been a big fan of rules like that." Jack smiled.

 

"Yeah, but what are we supposed to do on our third date now? If date number two is going to a return to that pita place -- which, if I'm remembering correctly was _awful_ and we should maybe reconsider that plan as well -- then date three is just--" Bitty stopped when Jack laughed. "What, did you forget that we vowed to never return to that stale little chain restaurant?"

 

"I don't really remember the food, I just remember how much I enjoyed the company."

 

"Well, I'll have you know that Holster got sucked into buying one of those giant coupon books from some fundraiser at a coworker's daughter's school, so I can dazzle you with my tearful, puffy-eyed, sniffling company at _any number_ of discount eateries across the city."

 

"I can't wait." Jack snickered when Bitty scoffed. "Hey, Bits? Can I kiss you?"

 

Bitty laughed nervously and touched his own face. "Can we wait a few minutes? When I'm not still so splotchy from crying? Maybe when we get to my-- _oh_." Bitty looked out the window for the first time since they stopped and realized to his dismay that Jack was parked outside his apartment building. "I'm home already, huh?"

 

"It's okay. We can wait until the timing is right."

 

"We've kissed while we were both drunk and while I was being paid to absolutely _not_ kiss you, what do we know about proper timing?"

 

Jack chuckled. "You have a point. So..."

 

Bitty quickly checked his reflection in the rear view mirror and frowned at the redness still in his eyes. "I mean, I'm starting to question your judgment a little... And your eyesight."

 

"You're beautiful," Jack insisted.

 

"Should I be concerned that you drove us here?" Bitty teased. "How many fingers am I hold--" 

 

Jack leaned in, stopping Bitty mid-chirp with a kiss. Bitty dropped his hand that had been holding up 3 fingers to "test" Jack's vision, resting it on Jack's forearm instead. He let his eyelids slip closed and leaned into the sensation of Jack's lips on his own. 

 

"Hmm..." Bitty hummed into the kiss and Jack pulled back with a chuckle. "Sorry," Bitty said bashfully.

 

"I liked it. It was cute."

 

Bitty laughed and gave him a playful shove. "Charmer."

 

Jack gave him another gentle peck, then touched their foreheads together. "So, what do you say, Bittle? A little unorthodox maybe, but still a pretty successful date, eh?"

 

"Is it over already? We only had dinner, I can't let you leave here without some _dessert_."

 

Jack's eyes went wide. " ** _Oh_.** I-- We-- I'm okay if we just-- uh, _kissing_ is fine. No pressure. You don't have to--"

 

Bitty pretended to be scandalized. "Mr. Zimmermann! Suzanne Bittle raised a _gentleman!_ I was clearly talking about that pie I promised you earlier."

 

Bitty got out of the car and Jack scrambled after him. "Oh my go-- I'm so sorry. I can't believe I thought-- I didn't mean to suggest--"

 

"I mean, let's not rule it out _entirely_..." Bitty shrugged as he led the way into the building. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bitty cried a lot in this chapter, but I promise he's good now. The last part should be ready soon :) Stay tuned for insufferably flirty boys back in the kitchen where it all started lol


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll have to come back later and fix some minor formatting stuff, but here it is! The end of the fic! I wanted to hurry and post it before my lunch break was over lol. Thank you for your patience!

By the time the elevator arrived on Bitty's floor, both men emerged looking a little disheveled. To Bitty's horror, the apartment door opened before he had the chance to unlock it.

 

Holster stood there grinning mischievously. "Well, this is _much_ earlier than we expected you would be home."

 

Jack smoothed out his hair and straightened out his make-out rumpled jacket. Bitty cleared his throat and pushed past Holster. "I promised Jack that we would make some pie for dessert."

 

" _Pie,_ huh? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

 

"I have no idea what you mean," Bitty insisted.

 

"I'm gonna step in here and just say it--" Ransom interrupted. "Bits? Did you forget that we have the lobby camera channel?"

 

The colour drained from Bitty's face. "Why were you watching that?!"

 

Ransom shrugged. "Nothing else was on TV."

 

"Plus you've got some pretty wicked whisker burn right around this whole area," Holster gestured to the entire lower half of his face.

 

"The polite thing to do is not draw attention to it." Bitty shooed his friends from the kitchen. He turned back to Jack once they were alone again, and they both laughed with embarrassment.

 

"Sorry, I guess I should have gone clean-shaven for tonight."

 

"It's not your fault. I wasn't anticipating that doorway-lobby-elevator make-out session, either." Bitty winked before setting about gathering all the ingredients they would need.

 

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

 

Bitty looked back at the collection of baking ingredients on the counter in front of them. "I don't think so...?"

 

Jack grinned and wordlessly stepped past Bitty, retrieving the aprons from the correct drawer without having to search them out. "Can't bake without these, eh?"

 

"I like a man who knows his way around my kitchen."

 

"Oh, do you?"

 

"I do."

 

Jack leaned in and whispered into Bitty's ear. "So do I."

 

It sent a pleasant shiver down Bitty's back. Wow. He was not prepared for the sight of Jack removing his suit jacket and tie, only to cover up again with an apron over his dress shirt. "I might need some help tying my apron again."

 

"Yeah? That wrist acting up for you again, Bittle? Don't worry, I can tie it nice and tight." Jack stepped up close to Bitty and wrapped his arms around his waist.

 

"Not too tight, Mr. Zimmermann. I'll have to take this off eventually."

 

"If you--"

 

"Hey! Guys? I'm feeling very conflicted about this soundtrack of apron-centric foreplay I'm hearing over the video feed from the lobby cam!"

 

"Yeah, Bits? We can kinda hear, like, _everything_."

 

Bitty turned bright red. "Why are you still watching the lobby channel?!"

 

"Nothing on TV."

 

"Can you--" Bitty groaned and walked out to the living room to avoid shouting the whole conversation from the kitchen. "Can you put on a movie or something?"

 

"Can you promise me that the only stains on my apron will be from actual baking?"

 

"Adam Birkholtz!" Bitty gasped. "Do I have to wash your mouth out with soap?"

 

"Do I have to worry about you doing unsanitary things in our communal cooking space?"

 

"No."

 

"Good. No for me, too." Holster grinned and started searching through Netflix for something to watch. "We'll turn up the volume on this show while you're in the kitchen keeping things clean."

 

"Good lord," Bitty said with a roll of his eyes. He was about to leave when Ransom reached out and tugged on his wrist.

 

"Bits, wait!" Ransom whispered. "How are things going? Really. You good? You're a little... all over the place tonight."

 

"Ha!" Bitty laughed. That was an understatement, to say the least. Ransom always had been more perceptive with people, especially Bitty. "You don't know the half of it."

 

"But... you're good now?"

 

"Absolutely."

 

Ransom smiled. "Good. Have fun."

 

Bitty returned to the kitchen with a shy smile. "How much of that did you hear?"

 

"Nothing," Jack replied.

 

"Really?"

 

"No. All of it. I heard all of it." He chuckled, but Bitty looked embarrassed. "Hey. It's okay. Let's slow it down a little. Teach me more about this pie."

 

Bittle smiled and let out a small relieved laugh. "Okay. Thanks."

 

"No, thank you."

 

Bitty laughed a little more and gently rolled the apples in front of Jack. "Well, then. Let's get started. If I remember correctly, you have a talent for peeling and slicing."

 

"Well let's hope those skills transfer from earth to tree." Jack chuckled to himself before looking over at Bitty's confused face. "Oh. That was-- see, in French, potato is ' _pomme de terre_ ' but apple is ' _pomme_ ' so-- It was a lame joke, nevermind."

 

Bitty laughed at that point and gave him a playful nudge. "You say that as though I'm not already very familiar with your tendency for lame jokes," he paused for a moment before adding, "it was cute."

 

"Oh. Haha. Okay, good."

 

Bitty prepped the rest of the ingredients while Jack dutifully peeled and sliced the apples. "Very nice. See? I knew you'd be good at this," Bitty told him.

 

"At least one of us was," Jack joked back.

 

Bitty continued chatting as he prepared the pie crust. "You know? Last time we were in this position? I thought you were going to kiss me."

 

"I _wanted_ to kiss you. Then and about a thousand times since."

 

Hmm," Bitty hummed with a smile. "Well, the feeling was mutual." He went up on his tiptoes and gave Jack a peck on the cheek. "I hope you didn't mind the wait."

 

"What did I tell you earlier? You're worth the wait." Jack smiled that brilliant genuine smile that always left Bitty feeling a little weak in the knees. 

 

They joined Ransom and Holster out in the living room while the pie baked. "So, are you guys like... officially together now?" Holster asked. Ransom elbowed him in the ribs. 

 

Bitty's eyes went wide. "We haven't even finished our first date, and--"

 

"Yes," Jack answered matter-of-factly, then turned to Bitty, a little more unsure. "Right?"

 

Bitty smiled. "Yes. Right."

 

"Good thing you came out already, eh Zimmermann?" Ransom chirped playfully.

 

"Haha. Yeah, a couple times. I'm sure there's people out there that still don't believe me, but..." Jack shrugged his shoulders.

 

"Third time's a charm, right?"

 

"Haha, right."

 

"And now that you've got that sweet piece of arm candy--"

 

Bitty tossed a throw pillow at Holster's face. "You're not allowed to talk anymore."

 

"What? I was complimenting you!" Holster insisted with a laugh.

 

Ransom ignored the happily bickering blonds and continued talking to Jack. "How have things been since, you know, that tweet? Any trouble with your team or management or anything? I know it dominated the news cycle for a bit there."

 

"The paparazzi got a little _dicey_ there for a week or two, and then I guess they got bored with me, which was nice. I did a couple interviews for websites and stuff, but I turned down tv things. I'll talk about it for a FalcsTV thing or You Can Play, but other than that I just wanted to stay focused on my off-season training."

 

"And your team? Nobody's bothered you?"

 

Jack laughed. "Oh, they bugged me a whole bunch earlier. Not in a bad way. They just want to meet him already."

 

Bitty's ears perked up at that. "What? Who's meeting who now?"

 

"I told a bunch of the boys about you, and they were chirping me all day about when they were gonna meet you. Thirdy or Marty usually host a big family barbeque to kick off the pre-season, so you can meet most of them then. Or sooner, if it's easier to introduce you to just a few guys at a time."

 

Bitty stared at him for almost a minute before speaking. "Sorry, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the fact that any Falcs know I exist, let alone that I might get to meet them."

 

"Well, you've met _me_." Jack laughed.

 

"Pfft! You don't count."

 

Ransom guffawed. "Wow, bro. Cold." 

 

"He knows what I mean!" Bitty defended himself. "Right, honey?"

 

Jack chuckled and linked his fingers with Bitty's when Bitty patted his leg. He glanced nervously over at Ransom and Holster as he did it, still worried that the roommates would not approve of him. Holster raised an eyebrow and smirked, but that's as far as either of them went.

 

Bitty, on the other hand, took the gesture as an invitation to snuggle up even closer against Jack's shoulder. "See?"

 

"Yeah, we get it. You're adorable. Rans and I can be cute too, ya know? Go on a double-date with us sometime and we'll prove it. What do you think of that idea, Zimmermann?"

 

Jack laughed. "Sounds like a plan."

 

"Really?" Holster prodded. If there was any chance Jack Zimmermann was going to keep Bitty a secret, he wanted to know now. "I'm talking cutesy stuff like hand holding and posing for pictures together and all that in public."

 

"Sure, sounds good to me--" Jack paused when the kitchen timer went off and Bitty sprinted out of the room to check on the pie. He watched him with a dopey grin on his face until Bitty rounded the corner, then turned back to Ransom and Holster and pulled out his phone. "My schedule is gonna get a little messy soon, but I've got Saturday evening wide open. Does that work for you guys? I don't know if Bits is working that night though. His schedule is more chaotic than mine, I think."

 

"Tell me about it," Ransom said with a laugh.

 

"I keep trying to convince him to come work at my office, but he won't budge," Holster added.

 

"Nah. He's too good at what he does now." Jack turned his head when Bitty returned. "Isn't that right, Bittle?"

 

Bitty laughed. "I refuse to answer until I know what I am agreeing to. I wasn't born yesterday, you know."

 

"I was just saying how good you are at your job."

 

"Oh lord!" Bitty dropped back onto the couch next to Jack and gave his arm a few quick pats. "Let's talk about anything _but_ me for a while, okay sweetheart?"

 

"Haha. Okay."

 

"That pie needs to cool a little while yet, so why don't you tell us a little about those Falconers I'm supposed to meet."

 

"Oh, well, they're a really great group of guys. Marty and Thirdy keep trying to get me to move to their neighbourhood. They live on the same street, so Marty makes sure to call me anytime they see a new listing nearby. Oh! And Thirdy was joking that he might have to hire you for himself if I get good results this season."

 

"Oh lord, I think my mama would pass out if she heard that. She's got big crushes on the pair of them."

 

"I'll get you some signed merch to send her."

 

Bitty laughed. "I don't know if you should. It honestly might kill her."

 

"Who else do you hang out with on the team?" Ransom asked.

 

"Poots comes around-- oh, uh, that's what we call Fitzgerald. Long story. But yeah, he comes around sometimes. And Snowy I see a little less now because he's busy with his fiancée. I probably spend the most time during the season with Tater--"

 

" _Tater._.." Ransom and Holster both whispered in unison.

 

Jack looked at Bitty for an explanation, but instead received only a shake of his head and an "I'll tell you later."

 

"Uh, so, yeah. Tater and I--"

 

" _Tater_..."

 

"--we hang out a lot when he's in town. He was off visiting family in Russia for most of the summer. I texted him a picture of one of your pies and he has not stopped talking about it since. He's got a big sweet too, so he's been dying to try them."

 

"Bits. You gotta invite him over for pie."

 

"I don't think that's the best idea. Hes a busy man and you boys are just going to say something to embarrass yourselves."

 

" _Bittyyyy!_ "

 

"He would love to come hang out sometime, I promise you. Tater--"

 

" _Tater_..."

 

"--loves meeting people. And he loves pie. And he's been wanting to meet you too, Bits -- it wasn't all about the pie, of course."

 

"Aw, well isn't that sweet."

 

Once the pie had cooled, Bitty managed to bribe his roommates with a couple slices so that he and Jack could have the living room to themselves for the rest of the night. He put a random sports channel on the TV, but neither man was really paying attention to it. 

 

Jack took a small bite of his pie, then put it down on the coffee table and pulled out his cell phone. Bitty could not believe his eyes when he realized Jack was taking a picture. "Are you serious?" He laughed.

 

"Come on, Bittle. You've seen my instagram," Jack replied with a grin as he snapped a few shots from slightly different angles. "This isn't my first time taking pictures of my food."

 

Bitty laughed and gave him a playful nudge before opening the app on his phone and scrolling through Jack's account. "Meal prep containers don't count, Mr. Zimmermann."

 

"They're not all meal prep."

 

"Meal prep, a few Falcs promotional shots, one of Alexei Mashkov with a very large hamburger, and a 'Throwback Thursday' picture of you and Kent Parson in the Q-- oh! And the top comment is from _him_ and it just says, 'Dude. Today is Sunday.' Was it really?"

 

"I didn't know what 'TBT' actually meant. I just saw guys using it," Jack admitted with a light blush and Bitty burst into laughter.

 

"Oh my gosh that is too darling!" Bitty chirped before Jack tickled him into submission. "Mercy! Mercy!" He said between giggles. "So you're not on top of your social media game, the important thing is that you tried."

 

"Should I start doing those ' _ooted_ ' selfies like you?"

 

"Oot...?" Bitty took a moment and then his face lit up. "What? 'OOTD' means 'outfit of the day,' Jack! You-- ' _Ooted?'_ Are you for real?" He wiped the tears streaming down his cheeks from laughter.

 

"So are you telling me I shouldn't post selfies of all my outfits?" Jack grinned.

 

"No, no, by all means. I'd love to see your daily wardrobe. I can picture it already--" Bitty lowered his voice and spoke in the classic hockey bro monotone that Jack tended to use during interviews. "Uh, I'm Jack Zimmermann and here are the same basketball shorts as yesterday. I like them because they're comfortable while I'm eating protein."

 

"Yeah. What's your point?" Jack smiled when Bitty collapsed into more giggles. "I love hearing you laugh."

 

"Even when it's at your expense?"

 

"I think I can handle it. Your chirp game isn't as strong as you think it is, Bittle..." Jack paused before adding, "but the important thing is that you tried."

 

"Cheeky."

 

Jack picked up his pie again and subtly scooted closer to Bitty. "What's that other word you call me all the time?"

 

"Sassy."

 

"Oh right." Jack casually took a bite of pie and waited until Bitty was reaching for a drink of water. "You're not the only one who thinks so. I've definitely heard people whispering about 'Jack Sass-Cheeks' when they think I'm out of earshot."

 

Bitty did a spit take and looked up to find Jack grinning proudly. "Oh-- You knew _exactly_ what you were doing there."

 

"Haha. Maybe."

 

"You know... if you did want to take a selfie, that suit you're wearing tonight wouldn't be the worst thing to post."

 

"Oh yeah?" Jack finished his pie and put the plate back on the table on top of Bitty's plate. "Two suits are better than one, eh?"

 

"Pardon?" Bitty asked as Jack put an arm around him. "Oh! Me! You want a picture with me? Are you sure?"

 

"Yes. Unless you don't want to. I don't want to force you into any spotlight or anything."

 

Bitty smiled. "You're not. I'd love to." He snuggled in closer for the photo.

 

"You'll have to tell me when to click the button since you're the selfie master," Jack chirped.

 

"A title I hold with pride. We'll have to do something about that caption too. See if we can't beat 'sweet pie' from your last post."

 

"Haha. It's not wrong."

 

Bitty laughed too. "True, but accurate doesn't always equal compelling."

 

"I beg to differ."

 

"Of course you would, sweetpea."

 

"Sweetpea, eh?" Jack grinned.

 

"Just take the damn picture, Mr. Zimmermann." Bitty gave him a little shove and laughed.

 

Jack started taking photos on burst mode and they both tried their best to calm their laughter into regular smiles. Jack turned his head and gave Bitty a quick peck on the cheek, causing him to laugh again while blushing for the rest of the pictures. 

 

"Oh, aren't you the sneaky one!" Bitty tried to tickle Jack, but toppled him over on the couch a little too easily. "You're surrendering that quickly?"

 

"What can I say? I'm powerless against you."

 

" _Please_. The only weak thing about you is that weak pick-up line," Bitty chirped. Jack shifted underneath him and suddenly the mood in the room changed. "Oh. Um... are you comfortable?"

 

"Yeah. Are you?" Jack asked in return.

 

"Yeah..." Bitty's eyes slid closed and he kissed Jack longingly. "Hey, um... Would you... Like to stay the night?"

 

"Yes," Jack answered immediately. "You're sure?"

 

"I am." Bitty stood up and tugged Jack to his feet. He walked backwards as he led the way to his bedroom. 

 

Five minutes into their make-out session on Bitty's bed, his shirt was completely unbuttoned and Jack's shirt was discarded on the floor. Jack kissed down Bitty's neck, then pulled back suddenly.

 

"What's wrong?" Bitty asked, horrified as to what about himself made Jack suddenly recoil.

 

"I, uh... haven't done this in a while. Even having a girlfriend has been a while. And a boyfriend... that's, uh, never happened, actually."

 

"Oh. _**Oh**_. So, I would be your _first_..."

 

"No, I've had sex with a guy before."

 

"Oh--"

 

"But it's been a long time. Like, almost a _decade_. So I'm probably pretty rusty... And nervous."

 

Bitty touched Jack's cheek. "Let's just take it slow then, okay?"

 

"Yeah? You don't mind waiting?"

 

"Of course not. You're worth waiting for." Bitty gave him a gentle kiss. "We've only been dating for about 4 hours now. What kind of gentleman would I be if made my brand new boyfriend feel pressured into--"

 

"Boyfriend?" Jack smiled.

 

Bitty felt his cheeks heat up. "Sorry, that was a bit presumptuous of me--"

 

"It wasn't." Jack leaned back down and kissed Bitty's lips, then nuzzled against his neck and let out a relieved chuckle. "It's been a bit of a strange first date, but I'm happy to hear we're on the same page now."

 

Bitty laughed too and stroked Jack's hair in the darkened bedroom. "This has been _the strangest_ first date of my life, but I wouldn't trade it for the world."

 

"Me too." Jack took a big breath of relief and caught the scent of Bitty's shampoo. "You smell way nicer than last time we did this."

 

Bitty guffawed. "I beg your pardon, Mr. Zimmermann?"

 

Jack snickered at his reaction. "You were kinda sweaty and smelled like tub juice."

 

"Oh Lord. I'm embarrassed about that night all over again." Bitty laughed.

 

"Don't be. It was cute." Jack kissed Bitty's cheek. "But, there is something I've been wondering about..."

 

"Mm. Yeah?"

 

"Do you only like to cuddle when you're drunk?" 

 

"Depends. Do you plan to chirp me about that forever? Because I don't cuddle boys who chirp me about my drunken antics."

 

"I won't say another word."

 

"Good." Bitty snuggled against Jack's chest and laughed at feeling of Jack laughing. "This is nice. It feels even better than I remember it feeling."

 

"You're killing me, Bittle. How am I supposed to not chirp you about that? I'm only human."

 

Bitty snickered. "I believe in you."

 

"Oh!" Jack fumbled blindly around the bed for his phone. "I forgot to post that selfie from earlier."

 

"Ooh! Let me see!" Bitty tried to tilt Jack's screen a little in his direction, but Jack held it out of his view. "What?"

 

"I'll pick something good, don't you worry," Jack said with a wide grin. 

 

"But--"

 

Jack tried his best to type out the caption with one had as he held Bitty at bay with the other one. "Hey, I thought you believed in me."

 

"In all ways but social media competency," Bitty clarified.

 

Jack tossed his phone away from them on the bed and caught Bitty in both arms, causing him to yelp then laugh. "Damn that fine print, eh?" He peppered little kisses along Bitty's cheek and chin before finally reaching his mouth.

 

Bitty let himself get caught up in the moment, but only briefly. He was soon squirming his way out of Jack's grasp and diving for his phone. "You can't just post our first photo as a couple and not show me! I have to see which picture you used. _I'm only human_."

 

"I believe in you, Bittle."

 

"You shouldn't. _Ah!_ " Bitty grabbed his phone just as Jack snapped him back up into a hug. They settled into a spooning position and Jack peered over his shoulder as Bitty looked up the post. 

 

There before him, already with two dozen likes and three or four comments, was a set of three photos. The first being their regular smiling photo, followed by one when Jack kissed his cheek, and the last one showing Bitty laughing with surprise while Jack's head was still turned towards him and smiling. The caption read "but not as sweet as the baker" and Bitty turned a little to give Jack a quizzical look.

 

"Get it? It's a continuation of the other caption," Jack explained proudly. "Because the pie is sweet, but you're sweeter."

 

"Charmer." Bitty gave him a peck and quickly typed out a comment on Jack's photoset. 

 

**jlz_1** but not as sweet as the baker

**omgcheckplease** #SelfieGameStrong <3

 

Jack chuckled when he read it. "Does that mean I got the Eric Bittle stamp of approval?"

 

Bitty didn't chirp back, distracted by something in the third photo. "Wow."

 

"What?"

 

"Just... you really look at me like that, huh?" 

 

"Like what?"

 

When Bitty looked up at him again, Jack had that same soft smile on his face. "Like _that_."

 

Jack laughed. "Like what? That's just my face!"

 

Bitty typed out a second comment as a reply to his first one:

 

**omgcheckplease**  BUT #BoyfriendGameStronger <3<3<3

 

He hesitated before posting it, and showed it to Jack. "Is this okay to write? Calling you my boyfriend publicly like that?"

 

Jack took Bitty's phone and posted the comment himself. "More than okay."

 

"Hmm." Bitty took the phone back and placed it on his nightstand. "That's enough of phones for now, I think."

 

"Are you feeling okay, Bittle? You're willingly putting down that phone of yours?"

 

"Hah-Hah, Mr. Zimmermann. Are you going to continue to chirp me, or cuddle me until we fall asleep? The choice is yours."

 

"Is 'both' not an option? Because that's the ideal, really." Jack grinned.

 

"Nope."

 

Jack sighed sarcastically. "Well, I guess I'll have to pick 'cuddle' now, since I can chirp you anytime."

 

"Oh Lord!" Bitty laughed. "I didn't know that was part of the deal when I signed up to date you."

 

"Fine print, Bittle. Fine print."

 

"Damn that fine print," Bitty teased back. He curled up against Jack and sighed happily when he wrapped his arms around him. "This is nice."

 

Jack chuckled. "You said that already."

 

"Well, it's _still_ nice." Bitty poked him in the chest and Jack snickered. "Good night, sweetpea."

 

"Good night, Bits."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! And being patient while I worked through my personal stuff and writer's block over the past couple months especially :)  
> I hope you enjoyed the fic! I had a lot of fun writing it haha

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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